Terminator: Dawn Of A New Hope
by Nemesis Akuji
Summary: This is my own adaptation of the events after Terminator 2. We see the appearance of Cameron, a protector sent for John to aid him on his most dangerous mission yet. Can John step up to the task?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: A New Beginning**

His heart sank as they moved further and further away from civilization. The civilization he had come to accept, enjoy... love. John Connor, the future leader of the resistance. The title had almost left his mind until two days ago, since then it had been burnt deep into his mind once again, like a hot smoldering iron.  
It had been five years since the Cyberdyne incident, five years since they stopped Judgment Day, five years since they have been constantly on the run from the law. The price they have to pay for saving three billion human lives, still who would believe Judgment Day, the end of the world, and of course machines programmed to extinguish all human existence.  
These are just some of the thoughts and feelings that would run through young John's mind every time they had to leave, every time they were identified.  
John glanced across the car at his mother who was sitting bolt upright, eyes fixed on the road as she steered the car across the open desert where hopefully normality would be waiting for them on the other side. John could not help but notice the striking similarities between his mother and the machine that saved his life five years ago. This was typical of Sarah Connor these days, John thought to himself. Every time she engaged a mission she... changed, she didn't think of anything else but the mission, especially when that mission was the protection of her son. John knew that deep down his mother didn't believe the war was over, she would never believe the war was over and unfortunately for John, that meant his life could never truly be normal. Sarah turned her head to her son who now sat with his head staring down at his feet.

"John... are you Okay?" she asked.

"Yes mom, I'm fine," replied John using an unenthusiastic tone.

John didn't move he just sat there, rocking back and forth like a rag doll as the car sped across the bumpy desert roads. Sarah turned to him again, eyebrows raised.

"...John?"

"Mom! I said I'm fine Okay, jeez how many times are you gonna ask me that huh? What makes you think I haven't gotten used to this whole moving thing anyway? I mean it's not like we've had to move six times before is it? Since... you know."

Sarah looked at him with slight concern on her face. She knew what he meant. She knew what was on his mind. She remembered his face like it was yesterday, the tears, the hurt and the pain on her ten year old son's face as she lowered it down to its death. They watched as the closest thing to a father John had disappeared into the molten abyss, leaving nothing but the smell of burning flesh.  
Sarah opened her mouth to speak but decided it would be best for John to work things out in his own mind. He was no longer that young ten year old, he was now fifteen, soon to be sixteen; he needed to learn to deal with things himself she decided.  
They continued their journey towards their new life, a new beginning. But for how long? That was the question that kept running through John's mind as he continued to stare down at his feet. At first he had hope, hope for a normal life, no police, no running... and no machines. His hopes had now been slowly slipping away as he began to realize it would never be over, they would always be running. They may have stopped Judgment Day, but they couldn't take on the United States in its entirety. They were alone.  
John snapped out of his daydreams as he heard the radio's volume increase. He looked up to see his mother staring at the radio more so than the road itself. She turned her head vigorously to him, a look of seriousness on her face, like a terminator that had just identified its target.

"John... listen," she snapped.

John sat up as the news broadcast started.

_"This just in, two fugitives have just been spotted on the outskirts of Arizona. Sarah Connor and her son John Connor, wanted for the murder of Miles Dyson and the destruction of one of the country's most advanced computer labs know as Cyberdyne Systems have been seen leaving the town of Holbrook, Arizona. They are considered armed and extremely dangerous; if you see them contact your local police department ASAP, do not make any attempt to apprehend them yourself..." _

Sarah switched off the radio abruptly and turned to John.

"We need a new car," she said.

"Why?" asked John.

"John wake up! If we have been spotted the chances are they have our registration number, not to mention our faces will start appearing in the local papers again, we need to act now!"

John let out a long sigh as the car veered off the interstate and headed towards a small town. It was late and very dark, Sarah turned off the headlights and drove at a steady 10mph in an attempt to pass through the town unnoticed. She suddenly stopped the car outside a closed Gas Station, where she noticed a small truck parked in a lay-by. It was a mid 90's Toyota Hilux, though the color of the vehicle was unclear since the paint job was slightly faded. It must have been heavily used on a regular basis by its owner.

"John... toolbox," exclaimed Sarah, breaking the night's silence.

John let out another sigh as he handed the toolbox to Sarah, who abruptly got out of the car.

"Follow close behind," she whispered as she made her way over to the parked Hilux.

John shifted himself into the driver's seat and placed his hands on the steering wheel, waiting for his mother to make her move. He heard a small crack and saw the door to the Hilux open slowly, moments later he heard the engine start-up and the truck was in motion.  
John looked out the window to see his mother moving her hand in a forward motion while mouthing the words "follow me". John obeyed his mother's instruction and started the car, following closely behind her; they left the town in the same manner as they entered in order to pass undetected. After all, the last thing they needed was to get spotted again in their newly acquired vehicle.  
They drove on for approximately 30 minutes, Sarah leading the way with John close behind. Luckily it was still the early hours of the morning, so there were very few cars on the road to complicate matters. They veered off the roads and onto the desert surface when the coast was clear. They soon arrived at a small cliff face leading down to a river below. Sarah instructed John out of the car as she opened the trunk and started loading the Hilux with clothes, bags and of course guns.

"John! Are you just gonna stand there or what?" whispered Sarah quietly but forcefully.

"Okaay mom, okay," replied John, as he started helping her with the unloading.

Once they were all set, Sarah started up their car, leaned one of the old M4 rifles between the seat and the accelerator before steering the car off the cliff and into the river.  
They both clambered into the newly acquired Hilux and sped off quickly back to the interstate and continued onward to their destination.

John awoke as Sarah tapped him on the shoulder.

"We're here," she said, with a slight sense of relief in her voice.

John sat up to get a look at their new home. They were now out of Arizona and in New Mexico, more specifically in a small town known as Naschitti. The sun had just started to appear over the horizon so the house was in clear view. It was a small detached property surrounded by a small plot of grass. In the front a small but old swing set sat, veering slightly to the left. The bars were slightly rusted and looked as if they would snap with enough weight. The grass surrounding the property itself looked as if it hadn't been cut in a while, or cared for since there was a yellow tint to it in some areas. The property itself looked like it hadn't been inhabited for quite some time now. There were small elements of decay on the wooden areas connecting the roof, and the guttering had been damaged, with large cracks in certain places which were leaking water.

"So... this is the mystery house?" said John disappointingly.

"I know it's not perfect, but with a bit of work it can be home," replied Sarah optimistically.

"It's hardly the worst place we have ever been in after all," she added.

John tried to force a smile in Sarah's direction as he entered the property.

"At least the inside's okay," said John.

The interior had been completely cleaned from top to bottom; the new furniture advertised with the property was all in place making the home seem much more inviting on the inside.

"That doesn't mean there isn't work to be done," said Sarah smiling at John.

"What! You're kidding right? Or have you forgotten school starts today," replied John.

"There's still a few hours before we have to go, at least help with the unpacking."

"Okay, I'll take my things in, but I wanna rest after that, besides I still need to get these stories straight. You wouldn't want me to accidentally let slip that my dad was a resistance fighter from the future, would you?"

Sarah turned her head away from John slowly while putting her hand to her forehead. John could see out the corner of his eye that she had a few tears running down her cheek. He moved closer to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Mom... I'm sorry... I..."

"No... it's okay, your right... I'll call you when we need to go," replied Sarah in a soft voice.

John bowed his head slightly and rubbed his mothers shoulder for a few seconds.

"Okay mom, I'll be in my room if you need anything," said John in an understanding voice.

John knew that he had upset his mother; he knew how touchy she could get at the very mention of Kyle. He also knew that there was nothing he could do to help. His mother would only tell him she is fine, even if she wasn't. John decided now would be the best time; he went to the car to get his bags before making his way to his new room.

……

_He was running, running faster than ever, running for his life. He looked behind to see if anything was there, the coast was clear it seemed. Did he loose it? How did it find him? Why is it here? What's going on? Questions were swirling around his mind, like a maelstrom out at sea. Out of nowhere he felt something cold creeping up his back, towards his neck. His hair stood on end as he turned around. There he was met with two menacing red eyes that stared straight into his, burning a hole right through his head. They were here, they had found him, all was lost. The hand grabbed him around the neck with the force of a wrecking ball and threw him against the wall. He could see it now, he knew what it was thinking, he imagined that infrared vision staring deep into him with the words "Subject John Connor... Terminate" appearing across its HUD.  
_

"_John!"  
_

_He heard the voice, loud but distant and somewhat familiar. He tried to scream, but nothing came, the grip was too intense. He was rendered helpless, there was nothing he could but accept his fate.  
_

"_John!!"  
_

_The same voice, only much more distinct, it was his mother, she had come for him._

"John! Wake up sleepyhead."

John's vision was a blur; he rubbed his eyes to see Sarah sitting on his bed looking at him. He was home, it was just a dream. John let out a deep sigh of relief.

"Nightmare?" asked Sarah.

"Yeah," replied John, his voice shaken from the subconscious experience.

"You Okay?" She added.

"Yeees mom, I'm fine, it was just a dream," replied John, his voice returning to normality.

"Good, because it's time for school, you had better get your things together now."

John looked at his watch; it was 7:57am.

"You're right! I haven't even washed yet, and school starts at 8:30," said John quickly as he jumped off his bed and darted for the bathroom.

Ten minutes later John rushed outside where Sarah was waiting for him by the truck, only it wasn't the Hilux from earlier.

"Err... mom... what happened to the Hilux?" asked John, rather puzzled.

"C'mon John, how long do you think it would have been before the owner of that had reported it stolen?" explained Sarah.

The Hilux had been replaced with a brand new Chrysler Concorde, dark green in color with comfy looking leather seating inside. John's eyes widened.

"So... err... where did you get this one then?" asked John, slightly nervous.

"It doesn't matter, we need to go otherwise you will be late," replied Sarah.

John reluctantly agreed and got in the car; he decided that he would question his mother concerning the origins of this new car when he gets home from school later that day.  
They arrived outside the school grounds at 8:25am; John hurried out the car and made his way to the main entrance.

"Good luck!... And be careful!" shouted Sarah.

"I'll be fine, cya later," replied John as he entered the school.

He entered the main corridor. To his left and his right were rows of red lockers and billboards with notices pinned to them. There were other students dotted around, pulling out various booked from their lockers and congregating outside the classrooms. Nothing out of the ordinary, John thought to himself.  
A ray of sunlight came through the window and penetrated his eyes; he shielded them for a moment and started making his way to his locker. The sunlight then suddenly disappeared; John unshielded his eyes to see that someone was walking towards him, blocking the sun.  
It was a girl, not just any ordinary girl. John felt his heart race slightly as she made her way towards him. She was about 5'6", couldn't have weighted any more than 120lbs. She had long healthy looking brown hair and two beautiful brown eyes that glistened in light, like diamonds. She was wearing a black hoody which revealed a small blue t-shirt underneath, and a pair of dark navy blue low rider jeans held up by a brown belt.  
She continued walking towards John; his felt his heart skip a beat as she passed him and smiled before disappearing into the ladies restroom. John made his way to his locker unable to get the image of that girl smiling out of his mind. She had full red lips and brilliant white teeth, perfectly aligned; the only word that John could think of to describe her was perfect.

"Hi."

John gasped slightly and turned around to see the girl standing right in front of him.

"Oh sorry, did I scare you?" the girl added.

"Oh… no, it's Okay, I was just getting my books for class," replied John while trying to catch his breath back.

"I'm Cameron, what's your name," the girl said, grinning.

"John," replied John.

"Nice to meet you," said Cameron.

"You too, Cameron... anyway I'd better get going, don't wanna be late on my first day," said John quickly as he closed his locker door before turning to the direction of his classroom.

"Oh, me too, I'll come with you," she added as she started walking with John.

The two walked down the narrow corridor exchanging looks along the way.

"So, this is your first day here," asked Cameron.

"Yeah," replied John.

"Sucks for you," said Cameron, laughing.

Out of nowhere John felt an incredible force as he hit a wooden door, it flung open and he landed on the floor with a loud thud. He held his head in pain as he frantically looked around the room; it was dark, full of brooms, mops and other cleaning equipment. A janitor's room perhaps, John thought. He then heard the door slam shut behind him. Cameron was standing over him, starring straight into his eyes. The friendly innocent little girl look he had come to like had gone completely. It was now replaced by a blank and unemotional glare as she stood there for a few seconds like a statue staring at him. She then leaned forward and grabbed him by the arm. John felt himself being pulled up with an incredible amount of force. A force he knew well. It was that very same force from five years ago, the force from his dream. Only this was no dream, this was real.

And it was happening now.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Contact**

John could feel his entire body shaking; his legs had turned to jelly. If it wasn't for the sheer power of Cameron's grip he would have fallen to the floor by now.

"John Connor," Cameron's words were no longer cute and girly. She was now speaking in a much more distinct, monotone manner.

He took a deep breath and managed a few quiet words.

"Are you here to kill me?"

Cameron looked at him, and loosened her grip.

"No, you must live," replied Cameron, still as monotone as before.

"We must leave, now, it is not safe here," she added, as she grabbed John by the shoulder and started to steer him out towards the main entrance.

The two of them exited the school grounds with Cameron still keeping hold of John's shoulder. As they moved out Cameron stopped dead and vigorously turned her head at a 90 degree angle, a truck had just slowly come round the corner leading up to the school. Cameron quickly pushed John behind a small bush where she joined him moments later.

"What is it Cameron," whispered John.

"He's here," she replied.

Cameron starred straight through the bush for approximately 10 seconds before turning to John.

"Who's here," asked John.

"The other one."

"The other what?!" replied John, with a sense of dominance in his voice.

"The other infiltrator," answered Cameron.

"Shit... how did he find us so quickly," said John, slightly concerned.

"I found you," replied Cameron.

John let out a small sigh as he looked down at the ground.

"Okay, so what do we do now?" asked John.

"We must not engage the target. It will attract too much attention and compromise our mission," answered Cameron.

"Our mission?! I thought it was your mission, to protect me... that is your mission... right?" said John with slight puzzlement in his voice.

"Yes, that is one of my missions," replied Cameron.

"One of your missions?! Well what else are you programmed for then?" asked John.

"We do not have time to discuss, please remain calm," said Cameron, eyes fixed on the bush.

"And how do you expect me to remain calm when I have no idea what's going on?" asked John, but Cameron covered his mouth.

"John I understand you have questions, but it is not safe here, I will explain when we reach our destination. You have to trust me... please."

John gave an understanding nod and Cameron released her hand from his mouth, and she continued to stare through the bush. John glanced at her; he didn't know what to think. John had encounters with Terminator's in the past, but he had never come across one as understanding as Cameron, especially so soon after making contact.

His thoughts were grinded to a halt as he heard the door of a car slam shut. A tall dark man had gotten out of the car. He stood about 6'2", very well built. He was wearing a black leather jacket over a plain black t-shirt, pale blue jeans and black combat boots. He also had short brown hair and was wearing sunglasses. The man slowly made his way towards the school's entrance, he soon moved into John's vision from behind the bush. John managed to quickly get a good look at his face before Cameron pushed him deeper into the bush. His face was emotionless and blank. This confirmed it for John; he was the one, the one sent back by Skynet. The one sent to kill him. Cameron turned to John and grabbed him by the shoulder again.

"We must acquire his vehicle," explained Cameron.

"Okay... when he goes into the school I'll hotwire it and we can get the hell out of here," whispered John.

"No, he must see us; he must know that we have left."

Before John could open his mouth to retort Cameron had gotten up, taking him with her and started running for the truck. The infiltrator made a sharp 180 degree turn and zoomed in on the moving subjects.

His infrared sensors followed the boy, before the text appeared on his HUD.

-- Subject Identified: John Connor --

-- Appropriate Action: Terminate --

John and Cameron reached the truck; John clambered into the passenger's seat, breathing heavily, his heart racing.

Cameron got into the driver's seat and started up the truck, luckily the infiltrator had left the keys in the ignition.

John looked out the windscreen to be met with two menacing eyes staring straight into his. The infiltrator pulled out a 9mm pistol from the left hand side of his jacket and began to fire at the truck. Two bullets soared straight through the windscreen, one of which whistled past John's head. He quickly ducked down under the dash as Cameron slammed her foot on the accelerator; she reversed the truck at top speed before pulling a vigorous 180 degree turn almost knocking John into her lap and then sped off into the distance.

The infiltrator let off two more shots as the truck made its getaway, one of which went straight through the back window and penetrated Cameron's right shoulder. John let out a small gasp as he saw the splatter of blood emit from Cameron's shoulder when the bullet entered her body. Of course Cameron made no reaction to the wound, not even a flinch.

John sat himself up in the passenger's seat and looked at Cameron with slight anger in his face.

"Why the hell did you go and do that for! I was almost killed back there, we could have just waited for him to go into the school, I thought you were supposed to protect me, not try to get me killed!"

Cameron's head slowly turned to John's making him feel somewhat uneasy.

"The infiltrator has the same files as I do, it makes the same moves I would, if it were to enter the school and be unsuccessful in identifying you, it would move onto a different school in the area until it located you," explained Cameron.

"Erm... wouldn't that be a good thing?" asked John.

"No, part of our mission is to ensure the destruction of this infiltrator; it must be destroyed otherwise remaining mission success drops by 40.57," explained Cameron.

"Remaining mission success? What else is there? What else must we do?" asked John, feeling very confused.

"Our mission is the destruction of Skynet, to prevent Judgement Day," replied Cameron.

"But we already stopped Judgement Day, we destroyed Cyberdyne, it ended-"

"No, it was only postponed," interrupted Cameron.

"Right... so how the hell are we supposed to stop Judgement Day now?" asked John, while reaching into his jacket pocket and taking out his mobile phone.

Cameron turned her head vigorously to him as she watched him push a sequence of buttons.

"What are you doing?" asked Cameron, in a more prominent version of her standard monotone voice.

"What does it look like? I'm calling my mom, I gotta warn her," replied John.

Before he was able to hit the "dial" button, Cameron snatched the phone from him. She snapped it in two and threw it on the backseat.

"What the hell are you doing! Cameron, don't you understand! That Terminator is going to kill my mom!" screamed John, almost going blue in the face.

"Negative, the T-888 is unaware of Sarah Connor's location, it is only aware of the State. It will now try to reacquire you in the next logical location..."

"Which is..." John added.

"Los Angeles, It has all details regarding the Cyberdyne incident within its files. The next logical move for the Connor's now will be to return to Los Angeles and attempt to destroy Skynet, it will try to termi-"

"Yeah, yeah I get it. Look I don't know what your _files_ say about Cyberdyne, but my mom was there. What we achieved was only possible because of her... she's the leader, not me," interrupted John, his voice calming down now.

"I am under specific instructions to not allow Sarah Connor to accompany John Connor on this mission," explained Cameron.

"Whose instructions?" asked John, already knowing the answer.

"Yours, 28 years from now you programmed me for this mission, uploading all mission parameters and instructions precisely two days before initiation. The exclusion of Sarah Connor was one of those instructions," replied Cameron.

"And why is that?" asked John in a demanding voice.

"Mission success probability without Sarah Connor's intervention 78.45, Mission success probability with Sarah Connor's intervention 54.67. Her intervention could jeopardize the mission," said Cameron.

"But why, this doesn't make any sense... wh-"

"Her judgement and morals will conflict with my mission parameters," interrupted Cameron.

Realising there was no way John could convince the machine, he reluctantly accepted defeat and slouched into his seat.

"Umm... Cameron?"

"Yes?"

"So this err... T-888, is it some kind of advanced model, I've never heard of it?" asked John in a more calm and controlled voice.

"Yes, it is an advance model infiltrator, it has the ability to blend in with its surroundings more efficiently than previous models," replied Cameron.

"So harder to spot?" asked John

"Correct," replied Cameron.

John looked to the front at the road ahead. He could not get his mother out of his mind, even though Cameron had reassured him that she will not be harmed, he could not help but worry. He had to make sure.

"Okay Cameron... I'll come with you, but promise me one thing... promise my mom will be safe."

Cameron looked at him a smiled, John remembered the smile from back in school when she disappeared into the ladies restroom and felt a slight sense of comfort.

"I promise."

John reached into his other jacket pocket and pulled his mp3 player and began listening to some music, while slouching even further into his seat. Cameron continued driving, eyes fixed on the road not moving a muscle, apart from to steer the truck or to apply pressure to the accelerator and brakes.

John spent the next 15 minutes pondering his predicament and going over the events leading up to this moment, just to try and make sense of it all in his own mind. His thoughts were extinguished when Cameron broke their silence.

"We are here,"

Cameron pulled the truck up to an old abandoned building, most of the windows had been boarded up, there was a small hole in the roof and all vegetation in the area had either started to wither away or died completely.

"You been living here?" asked John with a slight chuckle in his voice.

"Yes, what's so funny?" replied Cameron with a sense of confusion added to her monotone voice.

"Oh... nothing, nothing... c'mon let's get inside before we're seen," said John pointing to an open garage by the side of the property.

John exited the car as Cameron drove it into an open garage next to the building. As they entered John was met with a very empty large room, inside the flooring was covered in dust and old leaves, probably blown through the hole in the roof. To the left hand side of the room stood a small table with a chair positioned beside it, on the table an old computer sat on standby with a radio beside it. On the right hand edge of the table was a small stack of first aid kits and an old rusty toolbox.

"Surveillance?" asked John.

"Yes, I used the radio to try and track your location. When I heard you were spotted in Arizona I hacked the police database and acquired your registration number," replied Cameron as she made her way to one of the other rooms in the building.

John let out a small sigh, his mother was right to assume the police had their registration number. He felt a sense of regret at the fact he didn't pay as much attention to her as he should. The thought he may never see her again played on his mind as he rested himself on the wall of the building.

"I must be strong, I must focus on the mission, I must stop Judgement Day," he repeated those phrases over and over to try and take his mind off his mother.

Cameron re-emerged with an old mattress and threw it into the middle of the room.

"You must rest, we need to leave in the morning," said Cameron.

John let out another sigh as he inspected the old, tatty mattress Cameron had presented him with, his eyes fixed on one of the corners which had a small splatter of red on it, blood he thought. John then remembered the bullet from the T-888 that penetrated Cameron's right shoulder as they made their getaway. He quickly turned to her and saw a small bloodstain on the top of her blue t-shirt.

"Cameron, we need to patch you up before we do anything," said John, examining her wounded shoulder.

"I don't understand," replied Cameron.

"You won't get very far wandering the streets as if all is well with a bullet wound in your shoulder now will you?" said John in a comical voice.

Cameron turned her head to its right and examined her shoulder.

"Oh... thank you for explaining," she said as she manoeuvred to the desk, returning with a first aid kit and the chair.

"Okay, now sit there and I'll get rid of this thing," said John, pointing to the chair.

Cameron moved over to the chair, she then removed her black hoody followed by the small blue t-shirt underneath and then sat on the chair with her back to John.

John cleared his throat as he felt his face turning red; luckily Cameron had her back to him so she couldn't see. Not that it would matter much John thought to himself.

"Right... err this will only take a few secs," said John as he took the first aid kit from Cameron.

He slowly moved her bra strap out the way so that he could get a good look at the wound. It was nothing more than a small red dot, very clean, apart from the small smear of blood from her top. He cleaned it off using one of the antiseptic wipes from the first aid kit, before reaching for the forceps. He forcefully pushed the forceps into Cameron's shoulder until he felt the small metallic object; John clamped the forceps around the bullet pulling it from Cameron's shoulder and finally dropped it into a small metal dish that she was holding. Once the bullet chinked in the dish, Cameron went to stand up.

"Err hang on a sec Cam, there still a gaping wound here you know," said John, thinking as advanced as she may seem, there is still much she needs to learn.

"Oh... sorry," said Cameron as she sat back down.

John then reached into the first aid kit and pulled out a small Band-Aid and some tape. He ripped off four pieces and stuck them on the edges of the Band-Aid before placing it neatly over the wound. He pressed down softly until he was happy it would hold and finally pulled her bra strap slowly back into its appropriate position.

Cameron stood up and turned to John as she pulled her blue t-shirt back on.

"Thank you," she said in a softer voice.

"Now, you must sleep," she added, her voice returning to its normal state.

"Okay, but there's just one thing I need to know first... how do we stop Skynet?" asked John.

Cameron looked into his eyes and took a couple of steps back.

"I will access my mission database and explain," She said as she closed her eyes and stood still like a statue.

"In 1994, five years ago Sarah Connor, John Connor and a reprogrammed T-101 destroyed the research of Miles Dyson. This delayed the creation of Skynet by 13 years, 8 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 13 hours, 28 minutes and 49 seconds. Since the incident, Skynet setup multiple events in order to safeguard its own creation, each event has a critical moment in time and this is when we must act. We must destroy each event at its critical moment and only when all are destroyed will Judgement Day be prevented," explained Cameron.

"Right, and how many of these events are there," asked John.

"Four," replied Cameron.

"The first has already begun with the termination order of John Connor, we must destroy the T-888 in this time before we can effectively move onto the next event-"

"Hold on a minute," said John as he leaped up to his feet.

"What do you mean... in this time."

"In order for us to effectively destroy all four events we will need to use time displacement equipment in order to travel to the specific moment in time when the events are being executed," explained Cameron.

"Time displa... erm... Cameron, how is that even possible?" said John.

"In 2024 John Connor obtained vital information from an advanced infiltrator sent to terminate him and his officers. The information contained all details relating to these critical events. John Connor spent the next three years of his life putting together this mission to destroy these events, and to stop Judgement Day. He sent some of his best engineers back through time to create multiple time displacement apparatus around the city of Los Angeles so that when the time came, his fifteen year old self would be able to travel to each moment in time and stop the events."

John's eyes widened, his heart racing. He never expected something of such magnitude to be thrusted upon him at such an early age. He just couldn't understand how his older self could have seen sense in any of this.

"Cameron, what are the odds that we will survive this mission?" asked John with an elevated level of distress in his voice.

"Mission success probability 78.45," replied Cameron.

John now remembered how she explained this in the truck on the way to the building. He believed the odds to be in their favour however he could not stop worrying about the remaining 21.55, he felt his eyes start to fill up, a few tears started to trickle down his cheeks which shone in the moonlight. Cameron approached him taking a seat on the chair, only facing him this time.

"You're scared John, but don't worry it will be okay, I will protect you... I promise."

She leant over to John and wiped the few tears from his face with her finger. John looked up at her not knowing whether to burst into tears and hug her or run away in fear. Cameron was showing an abnormal amount of understanding towards John's emotions and even showing a simulation of what could only be described as care towards him.

His thoughts were halted as Cameron slammed the chair back down by the table.

"You must sleep now," said Cameron her voice back to its normal monotone state.

John lay down on the mattress stretching his whole body ready to get some sleep; he curled over onto his side to see Cameron standing by one of the open windows.

"What are you going to do then?" asked John.

"I will assess the threat levels in the perimeter and maintain optimum safety," replied Cameron.

"I never sleep," she added.

John rolled his eyes, and turned over onto his stomach ready to sleep. He plugged in his mp3 player again to try and drain out the knowledge of what was to come. Time travel, terminators, Skynet; he knew it would be tough, he knew there would be pain, suffering. But if he could stop Judgement Day then it would all be worth it, and so long as he had Cameron by his side to protect him, he knew there would always be hope.

With that being his last thoughts he zoned out of reality and into the world of music, before slowly falling into a deep sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The City Of Angels**

The large truck headed down the dark empty road before pulling up along the sidewalk outside a small closed pet store. It was a black Dodge Ram that looked like it had been picked up from the local scrap yard. Both the large doors had been heavily damaged with most of the paintwork either faded or missing completely. The left headlight has been completely smashed, and the left front wheel had been slightly buckled. The vehicle itself looked as if it had just been driven away from a collision.

The driver's side door swung open and a large black combat boot made contact with the pavement below. It was the very same boot that belonged to the infiltrator from the school back in New Mexico, the infiltrator that had just recently tried to terminate John Connor.

The infiltrator made it's was past the pet shop stopping at the crossroad ahead. It stopped dead and sharply turned its head 90 degrees to the right, staring at the tall structure straight ahead in the distance. The infiltrator's HUD targeted the building and zoomed in close.

-- Scanning... Scan Complete --

-- Match Possibility 93 --

-- Los Angeles City Hall --

-- Primary Location Acquired --

The machine was standing on the crossroad at Ord Street leading to North Broadway with Los Angeles City Hall standing tall in the distance. It turned its head back and carried on moving south-east down Ord Street, observing its surroundings.

There were rows of shops on either side of the street, most of which were either closed or empty. It was late; the sun had just disappeared behind the tall buildings within the area. The only shops in the area that showed any signs of activity were the restaurants, they housed people out for an evening meal together. The machine pasted the buildings, moving in a manner that would have surely attracted some attention had the area been flowing with people.

Its feet moved in the exact same manner with each step and each step being the exact same distance. The rest of its body remained complete fixed in the same position, eyes fixed dead ahead as it scanned the area by sharply turning its head from left to right.

Without warning, the machine stopped dead outside the Mien Nghia Restaurant and turned its head slowly to the left. Its eyes were fixed on a small store directly opposite the restaurant, a gun store. The machine turned its head back to the restaurant and completed a brief scan.

-- Detecting Human Presence --

-- Scanning... Scan Complete --

-- Human Presence Moderate --

-- Proceed With Caution --

The infiltrator then turned back to the gun store and proceeded towards it. As it entered a small bell rang and a man appeared from the back room and headed over to the counter. The machine stood in the entrance, looking from left to right at the guns on display.

"Hi I'm Bob, can I help you sir?"

The machine's head turned vigorously to the counter where the man was standing.

He saw a short man behind the counter; the man was about 5'5", late-40's. He had grey hair around the sides and back of his head, the top was completely bald. He was wearing a plain white shirt and an old pair of faded blue jeans.

"Yes, I need weapons," replied the machine.

"Well, you came to the right place," said Bob.

"So... why do you need weapons eh?" he added.

"Personal," replied the machine, using a dominant monotone voice.

"Ahh I get it, you wanna beef up the ol' home security, I got just the thing," replied Bob, reaching under the counter.

He re-emerged holding a small handgun; the machine quickly scanned the item. He made his way toward the counter and took the weapon. He aimed it behind the storeowner slowly moving it left and right.

"Beretta 92F," said the infiltrator.

"Very impressive... yeah this little baby will scare off anyone trying to rob ya," said Bob, laughing.

"It fires 9mm rounds, sold separately of course, very lightweight and easy to use."

"Oh yeah, and you get this free with it," he added as he put a silencer on top of the counter.

The infiltrator put the gun down on the counter next to the silencer and started scanning the wall behind Bob. The wall had a vast array of different rifles, shotguns and SMGs stacked in a line. It then looked down at the glass cabinet under the counter, where all the handguns and ammunition were kept.

"Anything else you interested in?" asked Bob.

"Yes," replied the machine.

"Ooh that reminds me, before we do anything I need to see some ID, and I'll need to get you to sign this form quickly," said Bob.

He reached under the counter and pulled up a small form, he took a pen from his shirt pocket and made a cross next to a dotted line at the bottom.

"Just here," he added.

The infiltrator reached into his left jean pocket and pulled out a small black wallet. He reached in and put a small laminated card on the counter. It read:

_Name: Mr Brian R Davies_

_DOB: 12/10/1962_

_Address: 858 E Kensington Rd, Los Angeles, CA_

Brian's eyes glanced over at the Identification card as he quickly scanned the signature located at the bottom. He took up the pen from the counter and signed the bottom of the form; using the image he had just stored from the card. Bob picked up both the card and the form and checked through all the details. He examined the photo attached the card and then Brian's face before giving him a small smile.

"Okay, you're good to go. So what else are you looking for?"

Brian scanned the walls for a second time.

"The Benelli M2," said Brian.

Bob turned to the guns behind him and pulled the shotgun down from its rack.

"A nice choice... and this is the tactical version. Not like those slow pump action types. Though I wouldn't recommend using it indoors," explained Bob, laughing.

Brian picked up the shotgun and aimed it past Bob in the same manner as the handgun from earlier. He put it back down on the counter and continued scanning the wall of guns.

"The G3KA4," said Brian.

Bob turned around to the wall and pulled the rifle from its rack.

"Again very nice choice... this has gotta be Germany's finest weapon. It's the shortest version of the G3 assault rifle, semi automatic, very accurate... if you can use it. I'd recommend taking it down the range for some practice first."

Brian again picked up the weapon and aimed it behind Bob. When he was finished he put the rifle down beside the shotgun and the handgun and turned to Bob.

"So... which will it be?" asked Bob.

"All," replied Brian.

"Okay, no problem... wait here just a sec, I just have to go out back and get the paperwork," said Bob as he made his way to one of the back rooms.

Brian scanned the area before locking onto the ammunition stored with the handguns under the counter. He punched the glass covering, shattering it completely. Blood dripped over the ammunition boxes, Brian had two large glass shards sticking out of his hand from the covering. He pulled the glass out of his hand, as blood spurted from the wound onto the counter. He then took a box of 9mm handgun rounds and loaded one into the chamber of the Beretta. He attached the silencer to the weapon just as Bob made his way out.

"Fits nicely don't it," said Bob.

Brian aimed the weapon at Bob's head; Bob looked at the counter to see the small blood pools and the opened box of 9mm ammunition.

"What the fu-"

But before he had time to finish, Brian fired the weapon. The bullet blasted straight through Bob's head and out the other side. The force from the shot sent his limp body into the wall before it slid to the floor into a lifeless clump. The bullet had entered the wall behind, through the centre of a large splatter of blood and brain tissue from Bob's head. Brian went over to the western corner of the shop and grabbed a large black bag off one of the shelves. He loaded his newly acquired weapons into the bag, along with as much ammunition as he could fit and proceeded out the shop. He headed back up Ord Street walking slightly faster than normal but still in the same mechanical manner used earlier. Once he was back at the truck, he loaded the weapons into the back and headed south west down North Broadway.

Moments later he was driving down North Spring Street where he came within yards of City Hall. He slowed the truck down to a steady 15mph as he stared at the structure. His HUD zoomed in on the building once more, before driving off into the distance.

-- ETA: 12:02:12:20:07:53 --


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Beginning Of The End?**

John's eyes opened slowly as a small beam of light entered one of the small cracks from the boarded up window. He started rubbing the sleep away from his eyes as he sat up on the old tatty mattress, attempting to examine his surroundings. Once his eyes came into full focus, he was met with a dark figure towering over him.

"You are awake."

The figure moved slowly into the light, to John's relief he was met with two familiar beautiful brown eyes. It was Cameron.

"You're a master of the obvious, aren't ya," said John.

"Thank you," replied Cameron.

John rolled his eyes at her as he stood up from the mattress and began to stretch.

"Another thing, hasn't anyone told you to not stand so close to people, especially when they're sleeping?"

"No, why? Is it something I should not do?" replied Cameron.

"Yeah... it's something you shouldn't do, it's freaky," said John.

"Freaky?" said Cameron with a confused look on her face.

"Yeah... you know, like strange," explained John.

"My database only includes limited information on human interaction," said Cameron as she made her way over to the small desk.

"You're telling me," said John muttering under his breath.

Cameron picked up the small toolbox and the remaining first aid kits from the desk and stuffed them into a small bag. She turned back to John and stared at him for a few seconds.

"You slept for 4 hours and 34 minutes; you need a minimum of 5 hours sleep in order to be fully operational. You must rest longer," said Cameron.

"I'm fine okay, it's only like 20 minutes difference," replied John yawning half way through.

"You are tired, you must rest longer," said Cameron in a demanding voice.

"Look Cameron, it's going to take like half a day to get to LA. I'll just sleep in the car," said John.

"Estimated driving time 11 hours 29 minutes," said Cameron in a monotone voice.

Cameron took the small bag from the desk and made her way out the front door. Moments later John heard the car start up, assuming that Cameron had agreed to his proposition he too left the building.

"So err... how are we supposed to kill this thing?" asked John.

Cameron got out the car and made her way over the trunk, she opened it. John's eyes widened as he was met with a large arsenal of different weapons stashed away in the trunk of the car. There was a wide range of different weaponry at their disposal, from handguns to automatic rifles all fully loaded and thrown in a messy heap completely filling the trunk.

"Okay... so where did these come from?"

"The T-888," replied Cameron as she closed the trunk.

"Oh... so all this just to kill me?" asked John

"And me," replied Cameron.

John glanced at her with a look of puzzlement.

"The resistance sent a protector for both assassination attempts, Skynet assumed this attempt would be no different and programmed the T-888 accordingly," she added.

John gave a small nod of approval as they both entered the vehicle ready for the journey that awaited them. The true start of their mission to destroy Skynet was now about to begin.

John's mind had become a labyrinth of chaos and confusion with thoughts, feelings and interpretations for the upcoming mission. He was unable to organise his thoughts, one minute he was thinking about the mission and what lay ahead of them once the T-888 was disposed of. The next was a conversation he had with his mother, a conversation he could not remove from his thoughts ever since Cameron mentioned time travel. He remembered sitting with her as she described her two days with Kyle, and more specifically the time travel experience he had. John could imagine the white light engulfing him, the pain that would soon follow and the cold sting of his naked body hitting the floor when it was all over. John took a deep breath a turned to Cameron who sat motionless, eyes fixed on the road as she steered them to their destiny.

"Cameron."

Cameron's motionless stare was now replaced was a small smile as she turned her head to John.

"Yes?"

"What year are you from?" asked John.

"In 2023 I was captured and reprogrammed by John Connor and a small group of resistance fighters to aid them in their fight against Skynet. In 2027 when John Connor's plans were ready for execution I was programmed to return to this time and protect you in the fight to stop Judgement Day," replied Cameron.

"So does that mean you were built in 2023?" asked John.

Cameron turned her head from John and looked out the side window of the car.

"Correct," she replied in a softer tone of voice.

"You okay Cameron?" asked John in a caring voice.

"... Yes, I'm just thinking," replied Cameron using the same soft tone.

John looked over at Cameron who was now staring through the windscreen at the road as before.

"Since when do you do that?" asked John

Cameron continued to stare at the road in her motionless manner; she didn't make any recognition to John's question. John felt a rush of awkwardness hit him straight in the face; he was being given the silent treatment by a machine. The idea that the machine was showing the same characteristics as a hurt schoolgirl played havoc with John's mind. Was she merely mimicking human emotion as an advanced infiltrator would, or does she actually experience some level of emotion? John pushed the questions from his mind. He needed to keep his mind on the mission; he could worry about Cameron's differences another time.

"Cameron... I'm sorry."

Cameron turned her head back to John and smiled again.

"It's okay," replied Cameron.

"So what model number are you? You seem... different," asked John.

"I am different," replied Cameron smiling.

"My model number is TH-10," she added.

"TH-10? That is... different," said John.

"Yes, it was John Connor that assigned the model number to me," said Cameron as she turned her head back to the road.

"I gave you that number?" asked John as his eyes widened.

"Correct," replied Cameron.

"Okay, so what was your model number before I captured you?" asked John.

"I don't know, my memory was wiped when I was reprogrammed," replied Cameron.

"It heightens the chance of success when reprogramming," she added.

John paused for a moment and looked toward the road; he was now in a state of confliction with himself. He wanted to know about Cameron's past, how she came to be and the answers behind all her differences. On the other hand he was afraid of what he may find out. He liked to keep things as simple as possible, in his eyes she was just a machine; here to aid with the mission. However John could not help but feel a slight sense of attachment to Cameron, she was becoming more of a friend than just a machine in his eyes.

Happy with his own conclusion that everything that just happened was the result of clever programming, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his MP3 player. Cameron looked over with a sense of suspicion on her face.

"It's just my MP3 player," said John.

Cameron looked closely at the device and then back at John.

"Portable music device, capacity 20 Gigabytes, battery life 20 hours, rechargeable," said Cameron in her usual monotone voice.

"Used to be, ever since I dropped it a few weeks ago the battery life has never been the same," replied John.

"Think you could fix it?" he added.

Cameron took the device from John and observed it for a few seconds before handing it back to him.

"Yes."

John's face lit up as he looked down at the MP3 player and then back at Cameron.

"It doesn't matter, when we travel through time it will disintegrate," she added.

John's face dropped as he slouched into his seat.

"Oh yeah... forgot about that," said John in a quiet voice.

He plugged the earphones in and relaxed to his music; he slouched further into his seat as the music flowed through his mind clearing it of all that was to come. For these few moments he felt free. Free from his destiny, free from Skynet and free from the machines. He let out a long yawn; he was still tired from his uncomfortable night's sleep on the old tatty mattress from the abandoned building. Moments later he fell into a deep sleep, free from worries.

...

The car jerked forward as it made its stop. John awoke from his nap and checked his watch, it read 14:26.

"We can't be there yet, we've only been on the road for about seven and a half hours," said John rubbing his eyes.

"No, we need to stop for gas," replied Cameron, as she exited the car and proceeded towards one of the gas pumps.

John also got out the car to join Cameron.

"Hey, I'm just gonna grab summin to eat, I'm starving," said John emptying his pockets to check how much money he had.

"Should have enough here for the gas too," he added as he made his way to the small shop by the gas pumps.

Cameron pulled out the pump from its stand, injecting it into the side of the car and began filling the car with gas. Moments after Cameron has finished filling the car John re-emerged from the small shop carrying a small plastic bag.

"We ready?" shouted John as he made his way to the car.

"Yes, we have enough gas to reach our destination," replied Cameron.

Once they were both back inside the car John opened up his bag and examined what he had bought from the shop. Inside was a small turkey sandwich cut into two halves and sealed in a plastic container, a bag of Cheetos and a can of Pepsi. He hastily pulled out the sandwich, removing it from the plastic container and began to consume it.

"You shouldn't eat so fast, it can cause indigestion," said Cameron watching John stuff the sandwich into his mouth as if it were the first time he had eaten in a year.

"Gimme a break Cam, I haven't eaten since yesterday," said John with a slightly illegible voice due to the sandwich.

Cameron turned back to the road and resumed her driving position as John continued to eat his sandwich. Once he had finished he took the can of Pepsi and began gulping it down at the same speed he had eaten the sandwich.

"So... tell me what it's like where you from," said John as he finished his drink.

"The future I mean," he added.

"My files only date back to 2026," said Cameron.

"2026... but you were reprogrammed in 2023," said John.

"Correct," said Cameron.

"The mostly likely cause would be a glitch suffered during time travel," she added.

"Okay, so what was it like the year before you were sent?" asked John.

"I was assigned within the medical sector of the resistance camp. John Connor believed that my skills on human anatomy would benefit them when treating the wounded," replied Cameron.

"What sort of wounds did you have to treat?" asked John.

Cameron opened her mouth to reply, but John interrupted her quickly.

"Actually, don't answer that... I've just eaten."

Cameron closed her mouth and returned to her standard driving state as they crossed the border into California.

"We're getting close now," said John with a mixture of excitement and concern in his voice.

"Approximately 4 hours and 47 minutes, depending on traffic conditions," replied Cameron.

"That's good, I'm starting to get sick of all this driving around," said John.

"Reminds me of all the times mom and me would drive from state to state... running," he added.

"We are not running," said Cameron.

"I know, about time too," replied John with a sense of relief in his voice.

"I think I'm starting to see why I programmed you to stop me contacting mom. There's no way she would agree to all this," he added as he reached for the pack of Cheetos in his plastic bag.

"Correct. Your mother was the best fighter you knew, but her primary initiative was to avoid all possible risk in order to protect you," said Cameron as she turned her head to John and examined the bag of Cheetos.

John started devouring the contents of the Cheetos bag. He turned to Cameron as she sat eyeing the bag like a suspicious puppy.

"Care for one?" asked John moving the bag closer to Cameron.

"Guess not," he added as he brought the bag closer to himself again.

Cameron leaned over to him and put her hand into the bag. She retrieved one of the small cheesy puffs, put it in her mouth and began to chew. John glanced over at Cameron as she swallowed the snack with a look of amazement on his face.

"Cameron?" he said intriguingly.

"Yes?"

"...Nothing, it doesn't matter," said John.

At first he wanted to ask how she was able to consume food just like a human. However with all the differences Cameron already possessed and questions he already had flowing through his mind; he decided against it. He needed to focus his mind on one important thing, the mission. It was now only a matter of hours before they were due to arrive in Los Angeles, a matter of hours before their mission truly began. Destroy Skynet, stop Judgement Day, save the word. To John this is all that mattered now; this was his destiny, his fate. He looked over at Cameron and gave her a smile; he knew that so long as she was there with him they stood a chance. He knew she would give her life in a heartbeat to protect him.

John reached his arm over to Cameron and gently squeezed her shoulder. She looked over at him with a cute smile to her face; a smile that John had come to cherish.

"Is everything okay?" asked Cameron, still smiling.

"Yeah I'm fine... I'm just glad that you're with me, I wouldn't be able to do this if it wasn't for you," said John softly.

Cameron looked over at him; she could detect a small rise in his overall body temperature.

"Don't be afraid John, I will protect you," said Cameron mimicking John's soft tone of voice.

John gave her a small nod.

"...Thanks," he replied.

John turned his head back to the road and began to slouch into his seat. That wasn't what was bothering him, he thought to himself. John had developed a bond with Cameron; she was his friend... his only friend. He knew that she would do anything to protect him, but he didn't know what would become of her when the mission was complete.

Imagines of the damaged T-101 being lowered into the molten steel hit him square in the face like a sledgehammer. Only it wasn't the T-101; as the vision became clearer he could see the gleaming brown hair, those cute little brown eyes and that unforgettable smile. He couldn't bear the thought of history repeating itself, especially with Cameron.

John could feel his eyes beginning to fill up. He frantically pulled his MP3 player from his pocket and began listening to his music in a desperate attempt to eject the thoughts from his mind. He let his mind clear as he allowed the music to flow softly through his body.

"John."

John's eyes opened slowly to the sound of Cameron's voice. He stretched his arms out and let out a long yawn.

"Did I fall asleep again?" asked John.

"Yes, you were snoring at a level of 80 decibels," replied Cameron.

"What? I don't snore," said John turning red in the face.

"Mom never mentioned it before, and she complains about everything," he added.

"I have the data stored in my memory banks, I can play it back to you," said Cameron.

"No no, that's okay Cam, I'll take your word for it," replied John as he began to sit up in his seat.

John looked out the windows to see that they were now engulfed by a series of large buildings and structures. The sun had just recently set into the horizon and was now replaced with a bright full moon in the night's sky.

John checked his watch which now read 20:49.

"We are here," said Cameron turning to John.

"Okay, so what do we do now?" asked John.

"We must make our way to City Hall," explained Cameron.

"City Hall... why?" asked John.

"In the future Skynet will be housed within City Hall; this is where it will be activated and will trigger the nuclear apocalypse. The T-888 has detailed files on this incident; it will assume the Connors will come to this area for information," explained Cameron.

"How can you be so sure?" asked John as he began to sit up.

"I would," replied Cameron turning her head to John.

John rejected back to his seat happy with Cameron's response, she knew what she was doing and that was enough for him. They continued driving through the city for a further ten minutes until the peak of the 454 foot building came into focus.

"I see it," said John sitting back up.

"Affirmative, we must search the area for signs of the T-888's whereabouts," replied Cameron.

They continued to make their way toward City Hall both checking out the side windows of the car in an attempt to catch a glimpse of something that could fit the pieces of the puzzle together.

"Face it Cam, this is like trying to find a needle in a haystack," said John disappointingly.

"Needle in a haystack?" said Cameron turning to John.

"Yeah... like it's going to take us forever to find anything here, we have been searching for 20 minutes now and no signs... nothing," said John as he began to slouch in his chair once more.

"There is a 95.34 probability that the T-888 is currently within the city," replied Cameron.

"That doesn't mean we are going to find anything," said John.

Seconds after John had finished speaking Cameron slammed on the brakes, nearly sending John straight through the windscreen. She reversed the car and parked it up against the sidewalk. John checked his surroundings; he saw a small sign post with the words "Ord St." printed in bold letters.

"What is it Cameron," asked John.

Cameron pointed to her left. In the darkness was a small shop; the door was shut and completely covered in yellow tape. As John focused in on the building he could just about make out the words "Police Line Do Not Cross" printed in blue, as well as the bold writing across the top of the shop spelling out "Bob's Firearms".

John quickly turned his head back to Cameron's who glanced at him with a look of seriousness.

"He's here."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Realization**

"Wait here."

John gave a nod of agreement as Cameron exited the car and started to make her way toward the sealed door belonging to the gun store. She quickly turned back to John.

"John you should hide; he could still be here," said Cameron.

John gave another small nod as he slouched into his chair out of sight. Cameron turned back and proceeded toward the store frequently turning her head from left to right checking for possible threats in the area.

When she arrived she examined the yellow tape that engulfed the door in front of her. She grabbed the tape and with very little effort ripped it from the door allowing her entrance to the crime scene.

Cameron slowly opened the door to reveal a vast emptiness within the store's four walls. She was instantly plunged into the darkness the room had to offer as she manoeuvred deeper into the building. At first glance the area seemed completely lifeless, but she had to be sure.

-- Switching to Nightvision --

-- Scanning Potential Threats... Scan Complete --

-- Current Threat Level: Zero --

...

-- Switching to Heat Signature --

-- Scanning Potential Threats... Scan Complete --

-- Current Threat Level: Zero --

Happy with the results from her multiple scans, Cameron entered deeper into the store; maintaining her nightvision function for optimum exposure. She observed the area to the fullest extent in order to retrieve some level of information as to the whereabouts of the T-888. After examining the main areas within the store Cameron reached the conclusion that the structural integrity was not compromised; there was no struggle during the encounter.

Cameron turned herself toward the counter where the guns were located and moved in closer for a better look. She noticed that there were two gaps within the weapon stack behind the counter; one by the shotgun collection, and one by the assault rifles.

She continued to search the area beside the counter before hearing a small crack. She looked down to find a collection of glass shards messily scattered around her feet. Upon kneeling down to examine the glass she noticed the compartment underneath the counter where the handguns and ammunition were stored. There was blood; only a small amount located within the compartment, and more specifically around the ammunition. Cameron examined the blood samples that lay before her.

-- Scanning Blood Sample... Scan Complete --

-- Blood Sample: Synthetic --

Though the synthetic blood was carried within all terminators, Cameron knew this belonged to the one they seek. Her files specifically stated that only one infiltrator was sent to the year 1999 programmed to terminate John Connor. It was obviously collecting weaponry to use on them when the time came, since the original arsenal acquired by the infiltrator was now in their possession.

Cameron now had significant proof that the T-888 was the source of this crime, the only question that remained unanswered was how to find him. She continued to check the counter since this seemed to be the main focal point for all activity between the store owner and the T-888.

Moments later Cameron noticed something out the corner of her right eye. She turned her head to be met with a circular marking on the wall beside a door leading to a different room, the anomaly emanated through her nightvision more than any other object in her view.

As Cameron enhanced her vision she noticed the messiness surrounding the circle; as well as the smaller, darker marks within. It became apparent that the marking was from a bullet wound to the head, the splatter was blood and the darker aspects belonged to the recipient's brain.

Cameron started to move toward the blood splatter on the wall for a closer inspection. As she approached she noticed the corner of a small object standing out on the floor in front of her. It was partially hidden underneath a shelving unit holding bags and other storage devices located across one of the building's walls. Cameron picked up the object and began to examine closely; it was a small rectangular card.

John slowly peered out his side window in an attempt to get a view of his surroundings. All was quiet, the streets were completely deserted; no sign of any immediate threat. He gradually sat up in his seat since his legs had developed pins and needles from the awkward position he was in for the past few minutes. As he finally adjusted himself into a more comfortable position he heard a soft slamming noise to his left. He quickly turned his head to see Cameron making her way towards him.

"John I told you to stay down," said Cameron with a serious look on her face.

"It's okay Cam there's no one here, the place is like a graveyard," said John.

Cameron entered the driver's side of the car and stared at John with her usual confused look every time he used a metaphor she wasn't familiar with.

"Err... I meant the place is quiet and empty... like a graveyard," said John correcting himself.

"Thank you for explaining," replied Cameron.

Cameron shifted herself into position and entered the keys into the ignition before receiving a small tap on the shoulder from John.

"So did you find anything?" asked John.

"Yes," replied Cameron.

"Brian was there; he shot the storeowner in the head and left with a handgun, shotgun and an assault rifle," she added.

"Brian? Who the hell is Brian?" asked John.

"The T-888," replied Cameron.

"The T-888's name is Brian?" said John raising his right eyebrow at her.

"Apparently so," said Cameron as she pulled the card from her pocket and handed it to John.

John quickly examined the card.

_Name: Mr Brian R Davies_

_DOB: 12/10/1962_

_Address: 858 E Kensington Rd, Los Angeles, CA_

"Okay, so you found this in there?" asked John.

"Correct," replied Cameron.

"We must go to 858 East Kensington Road and destroy Brian," she added as she reached for the handbrake.

"Hang on a minute," said John as he grabbed her hand before she could release the handbrake.

"How do we know this is the T-888; we can't just go in guns blazing. For all we know this could belong to the storeowner," he added.

"Impossible, the photograph is a 100 match to the image I stored at the school," explained Cameron.

John looked back at the card and examined it closely, specifically the photo on the left-hand side.

"Sorry... I couldn't really tell without the sunglasses," said John.

"It's okay," said Cameron.

John looked down to see that he still had hold of Cameron's hand from when he stopped her from releasing the handbrake. He quickly let her go and put his hands in his pockets as Cameron started up the engine.

"So are we heading there now?" asked John.

"Correct, we must neutralise the T-888 immediately and proceed to the time displacement apparatus," replied Cameron.

"How do you know where we're going?" asked John.

"I have detailed files on the structural layout of Los Angeles," replied Cameron.

"So you can find anything here basically," said John.

"Correct, it should take approximately 4 minutes and 29 seconds to reach the address," explained Cameron.

"Great, so what's the plan when we get there?" asked John curiously.

"I will enter the premises and disable the T-888; when I call for you, you must come immediately with the tool box and remove its chip," said Cameron pointing to the bag on the backseat of the car.

"And what happens if you can't disable him?" asked John with a look of concern.

"If I do not return within 10 minutes, you must leave without me," said Cameron as she turned to John.

"But... Cam I can't leave you... I won't leave you," said John softly.

"If I fail you must survive Judgement Day, it is you destiny," replied Cameron.

John turned to her with worry in his face. He believed in Cameron, he truly believed that with her help he could prevent Judgement Day. So far the mission had been relatively safe, but all that was about to change. This would be their first face to face encounter; the first real taste of danger. The realization of what was to come had finally started to sink in.

John couldn't help but worry about the negative; what if Cameron was to fail, all would be lost. There was no way that he could prevent this alone; he needed her.

"Just make sure you turn that machine into scrap," said John commandingly.

"Affirmative," replied Cameron.

Moments later they pulled up at the corner of East Kensington Street, though for John the minutes seemed like an eternity. Cameron stopped the car and began to scan the area and pointed her right hand towards a small detached house at the end of the road.

"This is number 858," said Cameron.

John looked in the direction her hand was pointing to see the small property. It was encased within a row of hedges surrounding the area. The house itself was nothing out of the ordinary; standard detached property standing two storeys high. He also noticed an old, damaged black Dodge Ram parked outside the house.

"Well I guess somebody's home," said John.

Cameron switched off the headlights as she slowly manoeuvred the car behind the Dodge Ram parked outside the house before switching off the engine. She exited the car and quickly made her way over to the trunk. She removed one of the handguns and holstered it using the front of her jeans. She scanned the rest of the weapons before reaching for the 12-gauge shotgun buried underneath a few rifles.

"John, wait here until I call for you," said Cameron as she closed the trunk and made her way to John's window.

"Okay, make sure you get out of there in one piece," replied John.

Cameron turned back to him and smiled as she made her way to the house. As she approached the small gate leading into the garden she quickly checked her surroundings for any potential threats to John whilst she was gone. Once complete she quietly opened the gate and proceeded up the small pathway leading to the front door of the property; shotgun in hand and at the ready. Since the door was made of wood Cameron had no trouble forcing it open without making too much noise.

-- Engaging Search Mode --

A small circular crosshair appeared on Cameron's colourized HUD; it began scanning all aspects of her vision for potential movement. As she entered the house she was met with a short narrow hallway leading to a large room; there were two wooden doors on each side of the hallway leading to different rooms in the property. She ignored them from the time being and made her way down the hall into the main room.

Everything seemed ordinary; to her left there was a brown three piece suite towards the back of the room with a small coffee table in front of it. Further away from that was a television sitting on a small wooden unit and a bookcase located in the far corner. Beside her on the right was a wooden staircase leading to the upper part of the house, and straight ahead was an archway leading into a different room.

After conducting a brief scan Cameron made her way through the archway and into the second room. Again nothing out of the ordinary; inside she was surrounded by various different cooking appliances, it was the kitchen. Seconds after scanning the room Cameron's audio sensors picked up something from above. She quickly froze in position and looked up; her sensors had picked up the sound of quiet footsteps in one of the rooms directly above her.

Cameron brought the shotgun closer to her chest as she quietly made her way back to the main room and started heading up the stairs. Nearing the top one of the stairs let out a small creak under her weight; she stopped dead in her tracks and increased the level of her audio sensors. The footstep sound had returned and was becoming increasingly louder with each step; it became apparent to her that the source of the sound was moving closer to her. She quickly ran up the remaining stairs pointing her shotgun to the right and then to the left in an attempt to identify the target. She was met with a dark empty hallway on both sides, all doors were closed and there was no sign of movement.

Cameron conducted a brief scan to ascertain which door lead to the room above the kitchen; the original source of the suspicious footsteps. She locked onto a door at the end of the corridor on the far left and began proceeding towards it. As she arrived she released that all was silent; the footsteps had stopped again. She turned the door handle and slowly opened it to reveal a small study area. There were two small bookcases rested against the walls either side of her, and directly in front was a desk with a computer system setup on it. Cameron made her way to the computer noticing that the monitor was in sleep mode; she quickly moved the mouse to reactivate the system. As the monitor slowly came into focus she released that she was staring at an online FBI file. It was John; she noticed his face distinctly on the left hand side of the monitor as well as all his personal information documented on the right.

Cameron turned back to see a dark figure standing in the doorway; she attempted to identify the target, but it was too dark and out of focus. The figure moved in closer quickly grabbing Cameron by the shoulders and pulled her closer. She was now able to get a good look at its face.

-- Checking Image Database --

-- 100 Match --

-- Primary Target Acquired --

-- Appropriate Action: Terminate --

Seconds after Cameron had completed her assessment she knocked herself free from his grip and pushed him with the force of a wrecking ball. The T-888 flew backwards and straight through the door opposite turning it to splinters. Cameron made her way towards the room shotgun pointed straight ahead ready to fire. The T-888 began to stand up, his silhouette slowly growing in front of Cameron's eyes. She let off two rounds into his chest; sparks flew as the shots made contact making him loose balance and stagger backwards. Cameron moved in closer, letting off another round into his face. The T-888's head was knocked to its left from the force of the blast; as he slowly turned his head back Cameron could see the glowing red eye on the right side of his face before it focused in on her.

She raised the shotgun to let off another round, but the T-888 moved too quickly and knocked the weapon out of her hands sending it straight through a window. He grabbed her and in a nanosecond began repeatedly smashing her face through one of the walls before throwing her back into the small study room.

Cameron quickly got up her face now showing small scratch marks and blood trickling down her cheeks from its close encounter with the wall. She had only regained balance for a few seconds before she was grabbed by the T-888 once again and sent flying through one of the small bookcases. She slowly turned onto her back to see the T-888 towering over her; its glowing red eye burning a hole right through her face. He grabbed her by the hair before she was able to retaliate and sent her straight through the other bookcase completely desecrating it.

The T-888 reached down to grab her again, but Cameron was able to deliver a strong kick to his left leg knocking him down with a large thud. She quickly got back up and grabbed him by the shirt; lifting him up and sending him straight into one of the walls.

She pinned him to the wall and repeatedly punched him in face before launching him into the desk; destroying all contents in an instant. The T-888 began to slowly stand up and make its way toward Cameron; it had now suffered extensive damage to its left leg and was now limping towards her. It attempted to land a powerful right hook to Cameron's face, but she countered the attack and threw him to the floor. He landed with so much force he went straight through the floorboards and landed in the kitchen below. The T-888 was now laying on one of the kitchen counters; blood pouring from his back. He quickly got up to reveal three knives stuck in his back; blood spewing from the wounds.

As Cameron jumped through the hole and into the kitchen the T-888 moved in on her and stuck one of the knives from its back straight into her stomach. She quickly retaliated by pushing him back into the wall close by knocking him down due to his damaged leg. She ripped out a small sink to her right and smashed it into the T-888 knocking it back down as it attempted to stand. She pulled the handgun from her jeans and began unloading it into the T-888's upper body. Before she could empty the clip; the T-888 knocked it from her hand and landed a strong punch to her chest sending her into a gap in the kitchen where the sink used to be. She hit the wall with an incredible force; destroying the entire piping system and sending jets of water flying across the room in different directions. The T-888 slowly made its way towards her knocking the dishwasher out the way for better access. He grabbed her with both hands around the throat and started slamming her head into the floor repeatedly.

As Cameron struggled to free herself she saw that to her left where the dishwasher used to be, the power cable had been snapped but was still plugged into the mains. She grabbed the loose cable and stuck it into the T-888's neck. The electric sparks danced around them like a set of fireworks as the T-888 began twitching uncontrollably before landing on top of her; motionless.

Cameron quickly pushed the T-888 to one side and began running to the front door.

"John, now!" shouted Cameron standing at the foot of the car.

John frantically searched the bag for the toolbox before exiting the car and running to the house with Cameron by his side. As he entered the kitchen, his eyes widened at the destruction that lay before him.

"I take it you got him," said John.

"No, I shocked it with an electric cable forcing it to reboot. We have 120 seconds to remove the chip before it is back online," explained Cameron pointing at the lifeless machine in front of them.

They both rushed over to the T-888; Cameron turned it onto its stomach as John searched the toolbox for a screwdriver.

"Cameron, there's too much skin; I can't get to the chip," said John impatiently.

Cameron looked at her stomach and pulled out the knife before handing it over to John. John looked at her worryingly but quickly snapped out of it and began to cut away the flesh from the T-888's head.

"I see it, quick pass me the screwdriver," said John holding out his hand.

Cameron handed him the screwdriver as he removed the port cover exposing the chip inside. Seconds later the T-888 began to twitch and his eyes opened instantly.

"John quick, he's back online," said Cameron.

John quickly put his hand into the small compartment that held the chip and removed it. As soon as the chip was removed the T-888 stopped moving and lay motionless on the floor, it was now offline... for good.

"John, we have to go before we are spotted," said Cameron as she grabbed the T-888 and flung it over her shoulder.

They both made their way out the property and headed down the small path; they could see that some of the surrounding houses now had light emitting from the windows. They had to assume it had something to with their little encounter and as a result of that picked up the pace till they reached the car. Cameron threw the lifeless T-888 on the backseat as John got in the passenger's side and threw the toolbox in the back beside it.

Cameron quickly started up the car and they sped down the street out of sight.

"We must head to the time displacement equipment immediately before the authorities are alerted," said Cameron.

"Okay, and where is this time displacement equipment?" asked John.

"There's a library located 2.3 miles away, the equipment is hidden there," explained Cameron.

"Hidden? How did it get there in the first place?" said John.

"In 2025 John Connor sent an engineer into the past, he posed as construction worker when the library was being built. During this time he secretly integrated the time displacement equipment within its walls," said Cameron.

John looked over at Cameron and gave her a small nod before noticing the damage on her body from the fight with the T-888.

"Cameron... you're hurt; we have to stop and patch you up," said John.

"My injuries are very minor, we can worry about that when we reach our next destination," replied Cameron.

John turned his head back to the road, he realised it would be pointless to bandage Cameron's wounds at this time; since it would all disintegrate during the time travelling.

"Just hurry okay," said John.

"We are almost there," replied Cameron.

A few minutes later they arrived at the library; Cameron stopped the car abruptly.

"We are here."

They both exited the car; Cameron went to the backseat and removed the T-888 as John sat on the hood of the car and inspected the library. It was a small building; no bigger than a large home. There were a set of stone steps that lead up to the two large wooden doors at the front of the building.

"John we must go, now," said Cameron as she headed up the stairs.

Cameron quickly checked her surroundings before she forcefully opened the door to the library. It was late and the library was only small, so there were no night patrols to worry about. They made their way inside and John closed the door behind them, though it didn't stay shut since Cameron had broken the hinges.

Cameron dropped the T-888 into the middle of the room and began scanning the area. The library itself was nothing but one large room with three rows of shelves positioned evenly starting from one side of the room and ending at the other. To their left was a small counter; presumably where people would rent out books.

Cameron began moving deeper into the building scanning the shelves as she passed them.

-- Scanning Area --

...

-- History A-G --

-- Negative --

...

-- Fiction A-D --

-- Negative --

...

-- Fiction S-Z --

-- Positive --

Cameron fixed her eyes on the small shelf in front of her. She punched a hole into its side and removed an old tatty book covered in dust as John quickly looked up and ran to her location.

"Cameron what are you doing?" shouted John as he arrived at her side.

Cameron inspected the books coverings; it was entitled "Take Back The Future". She opened the book to its middle where a few pages had a small square cut out of them; she put her fingers into the gap and removed a small shiny object from inside.

"What is it?" asked John.

"A key," replied Cameron.

"...To what?" asked John raising his eyebrows.

Cameron moved away from John and began examining the wall to their left. After a few moments of what appeared to be staring at nothing but a wooden wall, Cameron moved closer to a specific area and began to repeatedly punch at it knocking away chunks of wood as she did.

"CAMERON! What are you doing? Someone is going to hear you!" said John running over to her.

As John arrived, he realised that the area Cameron had destroyed was hiding a large steel door.

"The engineer built the time displacement equipment and stored it in this hidden room. The door is made with solid steel, not even I could break through it," said Cameron as she reached into her pocket and removed the key.

She entered the key into the small hole under the handle and turned it. She pulled open the door which must have been almost half a foot in width as it appeared Cameron was having a hard time forcing it open.

Inside was nothing but a desk containing a small 15 inch monitor, a keyboard, a small circular container and what appeared to be a computer standing on the floor under the desk only it was much larger than any computer John had ever seen.

"What is this? How is this going to teleport us to the future?" asked John.

"Come here," said Cameron as she entered the room.

"This is the operating terminal. You see the four large cables coming out the back of the machine and heading into the wall?" asked Cameron.

"Yeah, I see em," replied John.

"Two of those cables link to a component hidden within the ceiling, and the other two link to a similar component hidden within the floor. Once I enter the details and execute; an electronic signal will be sent to these components creating an electronic field. When the two electronic fields meet they will cause a chain reaction which will send us to the point in time I specify on the terminal," explained Cameron.

John glanced at her and gave a nod; pretending he knew what she was talking about. Cameron moved closer to the terminal and began to operate the keyboard.

"Err... Cam what about the T-888? We just gonna leave it here?" asked John.

"No," said Cameron as she stopped typing and grabbed the small tub next to the keyboard.

She left the room and made her way back to where she left the inoperable T-888 with John following close behind. She opened the container to reveal some type of dark powder with a lighter resting on top.

"What is that?" asked John.

"This is a substance known as Thermite. It consists of 37.5 Aluminium and 62.5 Iron Oxide," explained Cameron.

"And what is it for?" asked John as Cameron began tipping the contents over the T-888.

"The T-888's endoskeleton is manufactured using refined Coltan. This is because the titanium alloys used for the production of previous T-600 models were vulnerable to heat. Coltan has a much higher melting point, therefore more effective. The only existing material today capable of reaching the required temperature is Thermite," explained Cameron.

When she had finished covering the T-888 in Thermite; she took the lighter from the container.

"Stand back," said Cameron.

She flipped open the lighter, ignited it and dropped it on the T-888 instantly engulfing it in flames.

"We must get back to the time displacement equipment," said Cameron making her way back to the secret room.

John watched as the T-888 began melting under the intense heat created by the recently ignited Thermite. Once the smell of burning flesh and metal was too much; he quickly returned to Cameron's location in the hidden room. He arrived in time to catch a glimpse of the date Cameron had entered before she hit the execute button.

_Time Displacement Equipment Online_

_Date: 23/03/2007_

_Initiate (Y/N)?_

"We're going to 2007?" asked John worryingly.

"Correct, follow me," said Cameron as she hit the execute button.

John turned abruptly to see multiple blue electric bolts flying from the ceiling in the main room. Cameron quickly grabbed his arm and directed him to the centre of the electrical fiasco. Seconds later electricity started dancing around them from below before they were sealed inside a large, translucent blue orb.

"Make sure you don't touch the sides, otherwise you will be electrocuted," said Cameron commandingly.

John tried to speak, but the words didn't come. He was completely paralysed in disbelief at the thought that in a few seconds he would be travelling through time, eight years into the future.

He quickly put his arms around Cameron and squeezed as hard as he could before finally being completely engulfed in a bright white light.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Into The Void**

The light became brighter and brighter in an instant, burning deep into John's eyes. He closed them tightly in a futile attempt to block the overwhelming light, but it was useless; the light continued to burn straight through his eyelids with a remarkable intensity. He cuddled closer into Cameron as he felt his body begin to heat up. The heat consumed him entirely until he suddenly felt as if he were literally on fire; he felt as if he could just give up and die under the intense heat and pain he was undergoing.

Moments later the heat began to dissipate, the bright white in his eyes was replaced with a calm darkness. John could feel softness under his bare feet; it didn't belong to the hard wooden flooring of the library, but the cold outdoors. He slowly opened his eyes to be met with Cameron's bare chest.

John jumped back noticing he too was naked; he quickly covered his groin with both hands.

"John, what are you doing?" asked Cameron turning to him, fully exposed.

"Being modest," replied John his eyes making a desperate attempt to evade Cameron's naked body.

She looked at him raising her right eyebrow; mimicking his actions from the library.

"Cam... most people don't stand in the middle of nowhere completely naked," said John.

"Most people?" asked Cameron.

John went to open his mouth, but instead just resorted to shaking his head at her.

"It doesn't matter."

They were suddenly interrupted by a dim light emanating from behind; as well as a loud noise.

"What the hell is going on out here?!"

John frantically turned his head to get a good look at his surroundings. He noticed that behind them stood a small house with a swimming pool not too far away from its door. In front were a set of small bushes with a gate positioned in the middle; then it hit him, like a ton of bricks. They were in someone's backyard.

He turned back to the house to see that someone had emerged from the inside; they had flicked on a small torch and began to pan it across the garden in an attempt to locate the source of the commotion. He quickly grabbed Cameron's arm; completely forgetting they were both naked and made a violent dash for the gate at the end of the garden.

Upon processing their predicament Cameron immediately took control on the situation by detaching herself from John and taking the lead; once they arrived at the gate Cameron forcefully pushed it open knocking it off its hinges and landing on the muddy soil below. They both darted down a sidewalk running parallel to the house and around the corner before taking cover in a nearby alley.

They both stopped as they became fully submerged within the darkness of the damp alley; John rested himself against the cold wall in an attempt to regain his breath and slow his heart. Cameron just stood like a statue staring at John curiously; who quickly covered up his groin once again upon noticing this.

"We must find clothes," said Cameron as John's breath began slowing to normality.

"You're telling me," replied John.

Cameron diverted her eyes from John and fixed them on an unknown location in the neighbouring street.

"What are you looking at?" asked John.

"There are clothes located in the store over there, we must acquire the clothes immediately," replied Cameron.

"What! You can't just break into a store, what if you trigger the alarm?" exclaimed John.

"John... most people don't stand in the middle of nowhere completely naked," said Cameron copying John's voice and smiling.

"This is no time for games Cam," said John frustratingly.

"Well... wadda we have here?"

Both John and Cameron instantly snapped their heads to the location of three dark figures staggering closer to them.

"Looks like a couple of strays."

The figures moved closer into view; they were three young men all of which over six feet tall and very heavily built; possibly friends from a sports team. Though it was dark, John could see they were of course fully clothed in a variation of designer jeans and shirts. All three were carrying what looked to be a glass bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag. Cameron quickly glanced over at John who gave a subtle nod, and turned to the men after processing his gesture.

"Holy shit dude! Look at her gut," said one of the men pointing at Cameron's wound.

The stab wound on Cameron's stomach from earlier was still leaking a small amount of blood which had started trickling down her leg. The wound itself had now been encased with a layering of darker coagulated blood; making it appear more prominent.

"Guess this one likes a little pain," said another as he moved in closer to Cameron.

"C'mon little girl, we don't bite."

Seconds after that comment, Cameron grabbed the man by his shirt and threw him into the wall like a ragdoll rendering him unconscious. The remaining two quickly ran over to aid their friend before locking onto Cameron; rage illuminating from their faces. They leapt to their feet and one attempted to strike Cameron with his bottle, but Cameron countered and landed a crushing right hook to his face knocking him to the floor.

Before the remaining friend could decide whether to fight or run Cameron answered for him with a kick to the stomach sending him staggering backwards, tripping over one of his friends. Cameron pursued the remaining man as he made a desperate struggle to crawl away from the onslaught, but found himself in a headlock seconds later.

"Don't kill him," shouted John.

Cameron looked over at John and dropped the man to the ground; leaving him motionless.

"He isn't dead, just unconscious," replied Cameron.

"Good," said John letting out a small sigh of relief.

"C'mon let's get outta here," he added as he moved over to one of the men and began removing his shirt.

Cameron copied his actions and began stripping the man she just recently chocked. They hastily changed into their newly acquired clothes.

"We must go now," said Cameron as she finished buttoning up the shirt.

John looked at her and couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh; she was wearing a white, patterned long-sleeve shirt evidently miles too large for her frame. The shirt itself almost came down to her knees, and the sleeves had completely submerged both her hands.

The jeans looked as if they would fall straight to the ground with any wrong movement; luckily she was able to fasten them into a more secure position with the help of a brown belt. Though it didn't help the length since the jeans completely covered her feet and trailed off just in front of her; making movement slightly problematic. John didn't look much better in his new outfit; similarly to Cameron he too was completely out of frame for both the shirt and the jeans though not to the extreme extent of Cameron.

"Where are we gonna go?" asked John.

"We need to find somewhere to stay, preferably with internet access," replied Cameron.

"Why do we need..." said John, pausing at the touch of something cold and metallic in his pocket.

He removed the object to reveal a set of car keys.

"Driving while intoxicated is tactically dangerous," said Cameron as she examined the keys.

"Yeah, well that doesn't stop some people," replied John.

"Let's see if their truck is around here," he added as he made his way out of the alley to the left where men originally came from.

Cameron followed close behind as they exited the alley and emerged onto the sidewalk they originally came from when making their naturist escape. Cameron glanced across the street at their surroundings; dead ahead laid a variety of small stores including a mini mart, liquor store and a drugs store. Further up the street stood a small residential estate, evidently the stores ahead were built as a local convenience for the residents.

On either side of the street they noticed a small number of cars were parked up against the sidewalk.

"There is a 91 probability that the key belongs to this car," said Cameron pointing at a Ford Mustang parked a few yards from where they were standing.

"How can you know that Cam? I know you're like this super advanced terminator, but you can't be psychic," said John taking out the keys to examine them.

"The keys belong to a Ford model, this vehicle is the only Ford in the immediate area," explained Cameron.

John rolled his eyes as he hit the small unlock button on the keys; sure enough he saw the lights flash belonging to the Mustang flash on and off indicating it was now unlocked. He felt a sudden rush of embarrassment especially when he noticed Cameron's cheeky little grin.

"No one likes a smart ass," said John playfully.

"It wasn't smart, just observation," replied Cameron not fully understanding John's meaning.

"It's just an expression Cam," he added.

Cameron didn't make any response to his explanation; instead she just made her way to the vehicle and entered. John hurriedly caught up with her and assumed his usual position in the passenger's seat; he handed the keys over to her and she started up the engine.

"So you say we need to find a place to stay yeh... with internet access?" asked John.

"Correct," replied Cameron.

"Only places we could try are hotels," said John.

"Yes, this would be the most logical decision. According to my database there is a hotel known as theBest Western Dragon Gate Inn located approximately 4.6 miles away," explained Cameron.

"I know that place, I went there once as a kid. Not a smart move," replied John.

"Why?" asked Cameron.

"Well for a start you're covered in cuts and you have a stab wound to your stomach. Plus we will need to provide ID when we check-in," explained John.

"Our best chance is a cheap motel that just takes cash at the counter, I can check us in while you wait in the car," he added.

Cameron turned to John and nodded before conducting a quick scan.

"The closest establishment fitting your description is Motel Alcova, located approximately 6.8 miles due east," said Cameron.

John nodded as Cameron quickly performed a U-Turn and proceeded round the crossroad in front.

"Hang on a minute," said John glancing at Cameron.

"We have no money, how are we supposed to pay for this?" he added.

Cameron didn't reply; instead she started shifting her head slowly from left to right observing the area as she drove. She abruptly stopped the car in the middle of the street, eyes fixed on a small store to her right.

"Cameron what are you doing?" asked John worryingly.

"Wait here," replied Cameron as she flung open the door and began to make her way to the store.

John pressed his face up against the window in order to get a good look at what she was doing. He watched as she walked up the wall on the left hand side of the store's entrance; she made a sudden movement. John's eyes widened as he watched a series of electrical sparks extrude from the wall, followed by a loud crashing sound. He frantically exited the car and ran to Cameron's location.

"What the hell are you doing?!" exclaimed John angrily.

"Acquiring money," replied Cameron.

John saw that to her left laid a damaged piece of machinery; sparks randomly escaping from within. Upon examining it closer he found it was what used to be an operating terminal for an ATM, until Cameron ripped it from the wall. He turned back to her to see she was now holding a large wad of money; presumably being stored behind the ATM.

"Okay we need to get out of here before someone sees us," said John as he hastily ran back to the car.

"Affirmative," replied Cameron as she followed.

They clambered inside the car tossing the cash on the backseat and quickly made their getaway.

"Cam you could've told me what you were doing ya know," said John softly.

"I'm sorry, I assumed you would get angry," said Cameron.

"I probably would have been... but let's face it, how else are we suppose to get any cash?" replied John.

John began to adjust his seat into a more comfortable position; he sat back and reached into his pocket only to realise that his MP3 player no longer existed, it was destroyed during their time travel along with his old clothes. He let out a small sign as he folded his arms and slouched further into his seat.

"We close?" asked John.

"Approximately 3.5 miles remain," replied Cameron.

"Oh yeah... that reminds me Cam," said John turning his head.

Cameron looked at him curiously.

"Why do we need a room with internet access?" he asked.

"It is vital for the mission," answered Cameron.

"And what is the mission?" asked John.

"In order for me to fully explain, I will need to access my mission database. This would be considered hazardous while driving, I will explain once we reach the motel," said Cameron.

John gave her a small nod and leant back in his seat; he crossed his arms over his lap and leant his head on the window closing his eyes.

It had just started to rain as Cameron turned the car into the entrance and parked up.

"This the place?" asked John sitting back up.

"Correct," replied Cameron.

John looked out his window to see a large sign in front; it had a small picture of a yellow sandy island with a palm tree sticking out the middle, the words "Motel Alcova" super imposed across the bottom. Just beyond that stood the main reception building, from the front it was a basic rectangular building with two windows on either side of the double door entrance. To the sides of the main building were rows of small rooms, presumably where they would be staying.

"This is just the sorta place I had in mind, good one Cam," said John patting her on the back and smiling.

"Thank you," said Cameron smiling back at him.

"Okay wait here and I'll go get us checked in," said John grabbing a handful of the money on the backseat and shoving it into his pocket.

John got out the car and ran toward the main building in an attempt to avoid most of the rain that had now become increasingly heavier. John entered the building to be instantly greeted by the receptionist.

"Hi, can I help you?"

"Yes, I need a room for the night," said John making his way to the counter.

The inside of the room was just as basic as the outside; there was a small welcome mat by the main entrance, apart from that the rest of the room was covered in a blue carpet. The walls were papered in a very basic cream style, decorated by a small number of framed photographs. The area behind the counter was nothing more than a large shelf holding all the room keys, with a wooden door positioned in the left hand corner.

"No problem" said the receptionist.

"Our standard rates are 75 a night," he added.

John reached into his pocket, and removed a small amount of money and began to count it.

"Any specific requirements?" asked the receptionist.

"Yes, have you got any rooms with internet access?" asked John.

"All our rooms have internet access... have you brought your own machine?" said the receptionist.

"No, is there one on site?" asked John.

"You're in luck lad; I have one room left with a computer on site. It's not the fastest thing in the world, but it'll do the job," replied the receptionist.

"Also that'll be an extra 15," he added.

John reached back into his pocket to pull out the correct amount and handed it over to the receptionist. He stowed the money away into the cash register and turned round to where the keys were being stored.

"Room 17," said the receptionist pulling down an old and slightly rusted key from the shelf.

"You wouldn't happen to have any band-aids or a first aid kit or summin," asked John.

The receptionist turned back to him.

"I do, but why would you need something like that if you don't mind me asking?"

"Err... I just bumped my knee on the car earlier and I think its cut," said John lying.

"Sure, wait right here and I'll see what I've got," replied the receptionist.

He made his way through the small door on the left and returned seconds later with a few bandages.

"We have an old first aid kit in the back there, still had a few bandages left... is that enough for you?" said the receptionist.

"That'll be fine," replied John taking the bandages and the key to room 17.

"Thanks," he added making his way to the exit.

"Enjoy your stay," replied the receptionist as John exited the building.

John made a quick hand gesture to Cameron who quickly got out the car with the rest of the money wrapped in her arms like a newborn baby. John ran over to her and they began walking up the left hand row of rooms until they reached number 17.

They hurried inside out of the pouring rain flipping on the light as they entered. Inside they were welcomed with a small lounge with a door either side of them. The door to the right led to the bedroom and restroom; the door to the left led to a tiny kitchen, presumably for cooking up a light breakfast before leaving. The floor was covered with an old brown carpet that extended into the bedroom area. The walls were decorated in the same manner as the main reception, with a similar cream paper; inside the lounge stood a white two-seater couch with a television positioned close by. The computer was located next to the television; perched on top of a fragile looking desk with a standard office chair beside it.

Cameron manoeuvred herself to the bedroom and dumped the money on the floor which was surprisingly dry considering the weather conditions outside.

"Hey, I got some bandages here. Let's take a look at that wound of yours," said John presenting the bandages to Cameron.

Cameron sat down on the bed and lifted up her shirt to reveal the stab wound from the T-888. The bleeding had almost stopped by this time, but the wound was covered in dried up coagulated blood. John quickly ran to the restroom returning with a dampened hand-towel. He sat on the bed next Cameron and began to press down on the wound removing the blood.

"You can tell me about the mission while I'm doing this," said John.

"Okay, I will access my mission database," replied Cameron.

She went completely stiff as she scanned through her database; in the exact same way she froze in the abandoned building before. John continued to clean the blood from her stomach which had now started to bleed a little more, since the coagulated blood was acting as a temporary seal.

"The year is 2007. Approximately two months ago a T-888 was sent back in time, its original intentions unclear to us. Needless to say the infiltrator was destroyed during a train-derailment exactly one week ago. After the accident forensics discovered the T-888's left arm, which is now currently filed as evidence and stored in one of the local LAPD departments," explained Cameron.

John looked up at her, as he finished wiping away the blood and throwing the towel on the floor.

"So you have no idea why this machine was sent back, was it here to kill me? In this time?" asked John.

"That information remains unclear, though it's possible," replied Cameron.

"Okay, so how is this a threat? What is it we need to do?" asked John.

"After the accident, Skynet's new goal is to send back another T-888. Its mission is the retrieval of the arm. Once retrieved the T-888 will use time displacement equipment and travel to 2009 where the arm will be reverse engineered leading to the creation of Skynet," explained Cameron.

"We must not allow the T-888 to escape since I do not hold any information on the specific date it will travel to, nor the contacts made on its arrival," she added.

"So... we have to steal the arm before it does?" said John.

"Correct," replied Cameron.

John began to unwind one of the bandages, tearing the segment away once he was happy with its length.

"Do you know which precinct the arm is being held at?" asked John.

"No," replied Cameron.

"I will need to you to hack into the LAPD database and locate the department," she added.

"So that's why we need the internet access," said John as he began to apply the bandage to Cameron's wound.

"Correct," replied Cameron smiling at him.

"There, that outta hold," said John as he finished tightening the bandage around Cameron's stomach and pulling her shirt back down. He put his hand to her face and slowly turned it to one side.

"There's not much we can do about those," said John examining the small cuts to her face.

He took the damp hand-towel and began to softly dab it across her face, removing the small amount of dried blood from the cuts.

"Would you like me to check the database now?" asked John.

"No, I specifically set the time and date on the time displacement equipment to allow you 5 hours of sleep before we begin the mission," said Cameron.

"You did?" said John happily.

"Thank you Cameron," he added smiling at her.

"You should rest now, I will call you at 6am," said Cameron.

John lay back onto the bed and began to stretch out his body; he kicked off his shoes and pulled himself under the sheets.

"What are you gonna do?" asked John.

"I will assess the threat levels in the area, in order to keep you safe," replied Cameron.

John smiled up at her as she approached the door leading to the lounge; he was pleased at her response since it was less mechanical than the first time he asked that question back in the abandoned building. She was beginning to learn.

"Goodnight," said John.

"Night," replied Cameron as she quietly closed the door after leaving the room.

John turned onto his side and buried his head into the soft pillow. He smiled as he closed his eyes; for once he wasn't worried about the mission. He was thinking about Cameron, about how much of a valuable asset she was... and how much he liked her. He believed it to be nothing more than advanced programming, but that didn't stop that fact that her attention to detail and care for his wellbeing touched his heart.

With that being his final thoughts, he drifted off into a peaceful sleep clutching his pillow like a content baby.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: The Ghost Of The Machine**

John's eyes began to slowly open at the sound of the creaking door; he began to shuffle under the warm sheets before positioning himself on his back. He had almost fallen back to sleep, but the smell was too intense to shut out. He began rubbing his eyes as the smell became more prominent; it was a beautiful smell, the smell of cooking and not just any cooking, it was perfect cooking.

John sat up, positioning his back on the wooden headrest to see Cameron sitting on the edge of his bed with a beautiful smile on her face reaching from cheek to cheek. He looked down to see she was holding a small plate containing a medium sliced piece of toast in the centre with a perfectly rounded egg placed on top. On the edge of the plate laid two more pieces of toast, cut into smaller triangles and positioned evenly around the plate with butter oozing over the sides.

"I made you breakfast," said Cameron feeling very pleased with herself.

She moved closer to John and placed the plate on his lap.

"I hope you like it, I read that most people do," she added, handing him a knife and fork.

"I love eggs on toast, thank you Cam," replied John grinning.

"I didn't know you could cook," he added as he began mixing the yolk with the white.

"I couldn't," said Cameron.

"I spent the night researching human interactions and emotions on the internet. According to many articles it is considered a treat to receive breakfast in bed," she added.

John began cutting up the toast into small pieces; just as he finished, he quickly looked up at Cameron who was still watching him.

"Hey Cam, I'm very grateful an' all, but where did you get the eggs from?" asked John as he began eating his small chunks of egg on toast.

"There is a Wal-Mart located not too far from our location; the information stored in my database confirmed the store is open 24 hours a day. Once I was finished with the internet I took the car and picked up some supplies," said Cameron.

"You went all the way there just to buy me breakfast?" asked John sentimentally.

"The original intention was to obtain clothing since we wouldn't have time during typical opening hours. However due to the information I stored regarding human needs it became apparent that you would be hungry at this time," explained Cameron.

John had become so mesmerised over Cameron's amazing cooking that he failed to notice she was no longer wearing the oversized outfit previously owned by a drunken sports player. She was now wearing a pink v-neck top revealing a small white shirt underneath; black skin tight jeans and large black combat boots.

"I take it you got me somethin too," said John as he consumed the triangular pieces of toast.

"Yes," replied Cameron lifting up a plastic Wal-Mart bag from the floor.

John quickly finished his last piece of toast and moved the plate to one side. He took the bag from Cameron and began to examine what she had bought him; inside was a standard pair of pale blue jeans, a plain grey shirt and a dark green jacket.

"Is it okay?" asked Cameron.

"Yeah, they're great thanks," said John removing the clothes from the bag.

"Did you get me any sneakers?" he added.

Cameron reached down to the floor and re-emerged with a black pair of Nike footwear.

"Are these okay?" asked Cameron.

"Yeah," replied John.

John slid his legs out from under the sheets and began to stretch.

"Okay, do you mind turning round or something while I try this on? Need to make sure this stuff fits," said John spinning his index finger at Cameron.

"Why do I need to turn round?" asked Cameron.

"Cus I need to change, I'd rather not have you standing there watching" replied John.

"But I've seen you naked before, what's the difference?" asked Cameron.

"C'mon Cam I thought you said you researched this kinda stuff," said John impatiently.

Cameron sat in silence for a few seconds before replying.

"You're right, humans do not like to be seen naked unless it occurs before sexual intercourse," said Cameron.

John turned to her abruptly slightly red in the face due to her unexpected explanation.

"Err... yeah something like that," said John.

Cameron continued to sit on the bed; eyes fixed on John as he began circling his index finger again.

"Well..."

"Oh... sorry," said Cameron as she turned to face the wall.

John quickly slid out of his oversized sports clothing. He pulled up the jeans to find they were a perfect fit both around the waist and in length. He threw the shirt over his head which landed neatly just below his crotch making another perfect fit. Lastly he slid on the sneakers and pulled on the jacket; the jacket fell a couple of inches longer than his shirt and the sneakers slid on no problem at all.

"Wow Cam! These are perfect, how did you know my sizes?" asked John happily.

"When searching the male section of the store, I accessed my visual memory to the point after we had just arrived in the year 2007 and scanned your body in order to make the correct purchases," explained Cameron.

"You did WHAT!" said John turning beet red.

"I said I-"

"I know what you said, you just told me you scanned my naked body in order to buy me clothes," said John angrily.

He felt embarrassment creep into his thoughts as he pictured Cameron scanning his body in graphic detail. He looked over at her to see that she was no longer smiling happily like before.

"You okay?" asked John in a calmer voice.

Cameron's face dropped as she turned away from him.

"I'm sorry John... I didn't know that was something I shouldn't do," she said in a soft voice.

John's anger quickly turned to sympathy as he moved closer putting his hand on her shoulder. He wasn't happy at what she had done, but she was only a machine. She just took the most logical option and applied it.

"Cam, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that, you were only trying to help," said John calmly.

"But... can you do me a favour?" he asked.

Cameron turned to him with a look of curiosity.

"Could you maybe delete that memory or somethin."

"I'm unable to physically delete the files stored in my CPU," replied Cameron.

"Oh... err well could you promise me you won't access those ones anymore?" asked John.

"I promise," said Cameron smiling again.

John patted her softly on the shoulder as he began to make his way to the door.

"I'd better get on and find this precinct," said John.

"Yes. I will need to take a shower while you locate the department, my hygiene levels are below satisfactory," replied Cameron making her way to the restroom.

John sat himself down on the office chair and hit the power button on the machine.

"Wow, this thing is quick," said John, impressed by the computer's speedy response time.

Seconds later he realised that he was still used to technology from 1999, so a machine classed as slow in this time would be considered a super-computer back then.

He quickly opened up the Internet browser and accessed the LAPD's homepage. He began to surf the site looking for any clues to the whereabouts of the train derailment incident and the mechanical arm found at the scene.

After searching for a few minutes, he found a link leading to a small report on the derailment incident. He began to scan the report.

_Reports are sketchy at this time, but it is believed that the Northbound Metrolink train derailed just 12 miles from its destination at Downtown Burbank. So far it is believed that 39 people lost their lives in the accident, though some could still be missing within the wreckage. We have established that there were no survivors of this terrible tragedy.__We are doing everything in our power to try and establish the cause whether it be human or mechanical.  
Our thoughts go out to the grieving families who have lost their loved ones..._

John stopped reading the report as he noticed a small link at the side of the page titled "Evidence". He clicked the link only to be met with a new webpage asking for security clearance in the form of a password.

John leant back in the chair and let out a small sigh as he right clicked the page and navigated his way to the "View Page Source" tab opening a small box containing HTML coding.

HTML  
HEAD  
titleofficial website of THE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT/title  
link href"/css/homepagecss.css" rel"stylesheet" type"text/css"  
LINK REL"shortcut icon" HREF"favicon.ico" TYPE"image/x-icon"  
meta http-equiv"Content-Type" content"text/html; charsetiso-8859-1"

SCRIPT

/Password Script/

function enter()  
if (document.enternow.password.value ! " ") /Password 56BIT Encryption  
alert("Password Incorrect!); /Action if wrong  
return false;

else  
alert("Password Accepted!"); /Action if correct

/End Password Script/

/SCRIPT  
/HEAD  
body

John examined the coding that lay before him, seeing if he could spot the password within. It only took him a few seconds to realise that the password had been blanked out, meaning he was unable to retrieve it and enter the page.

"Nothing's ever simple," said John to himself as he opened up Microsoft Visual Basic.

He began vigorously bashing the keyboard, creating his own HTMP script in an attempt to counter the encryptions on the LAPD password screen.

Just as John was finishing his code, Cameron made her way into the room. She looked just as she did before entering the shower, except her hair was still damp. Instead of the usual wavy brown locks John was used to, it was now much darker and straighter as tiny droplets of water fell onto her pink top. John looked over at her as she manoeuvred to the couch and sat down.

"Is something the matter?" asked Cameron eyeing John curiously.

"No no, I'm almost done here," said John finding it hard to take his eyes off her beautiful hair.

John turned back the computer and started to import his new coding onto the original source page for the LAPD password screen. Once everything was in place, John chuckled to himself as he entered in the new password "nofatebutwhatwemake".

The page opened up to show a list of different items stored in alphabetical order.

"Cam, I'm in," said John as he began scanning through the list.

Cameron got up from the couch and made her way to the desk, leaning on John's chair from behind. John felt her damp hair touch the side of his neck and shoulder sending a comforting tingle down his spine.

"There," said Cameron pointing to one of the items.

John glanced at the small link titled "Mechanical Arm"; he clicked the link to bring up another page showing an image of a police department. Along the bottom was a small bundle of text.

_Due to the nature of this item, we have taken it upon ourselves to store this within our precinct for further forensic observation. It will return to the original precinct once we have completed our assessment.__  
Los Angeles County Park Police  
320 W Temple St #B61  
Los Angeles  
CA  
90012  
(323) 845-1040_

"The department is approximately 4.7 miles away, we should arrive there in 8 minutes 21 seconds," said Cameron.

"We must go now, before the T-888 gets there first," she added.

John quickly shut the computer down and made his way to the door with Cameron leading into the car park.

"Okay you get the car, I'm just gonna go hand in the key," said John making his way to the main reception building.

John entered the building to be greeted by a different receptionist.

"Did you enjoy your stay?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was fine thanks," replied John handing over the key.

"Come back anytime," said the receptionist as John made a dash for the door.

"Thanks," said John as he exited the building and ran over to Cameron who had just started up the car.

John entered the car and Cameron began driving toward the police station. He quickly fastened his seatbelt as he noticed Cameron was driving with a heightened level of aggression than usual. Completely understandable John thought to himself, this was the moment of truth; would they make it before the T-888?

John felt his heart begin to race as Cameron consistently increased her speed, making a desperate attempt to reach the station in as little time as possible.

"Cameron be careful okay, we won't get very far if you crash us," said John commandingly.

"Don't worry John, I have increased my reaction sensors to avoid potential collisions," replied Cameron.

She remained focused in front, eyes fixed on the road and it absorbed her concentration like a sponge.

Minutes later Cameron slowed the car as they started bearing down on West Temple Street. John rolled down his window for a breath of fresh air, but was met with something completely different. He began sniffing the air before making a violent turn to Cameron.

"Can you smell that?" he said worryingly.

"I can't smell, but I can sense, and yes I can sense that," replied Cameron.

"Smells like smoke," said John.

Cameron abruptly stopped the car outside a large building to their left. There was smoke emitting from the broken windows occasionally accompanied by a flicker of yellow flame. John felt his heart skip a beat as he read the banner located above the buildings doors "Los Angeles County Park Police".

They quickly scanned the site to see that the doors had been completely knocked off their hinges and laid in a messy heap on the inside. Just on the outside of the building laid two motionless lumps of mass; they were blue in colour apart from the red liquid dripping down the stone steps beside them. They were two cops, two cops that had been brutally murdered; their lifeless bodies symbolising the end of things to come, the end of life as we know it.

John put both hands to his face and let out a long drawn out sigh before turning to Cameron. He felt an overwhelming sense of depression and failure hit him straight in the head like an anvil. He stared at Cameron as his left eye started to glisten before letting loose a single teardrop that trickled down his cheek.

"It's all over Cam, we failed."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: The Power Of Friendship**

John began to lightly bash his head against the dashboard as Cameron watched him, a look of sympathy on her face. She reached over to him and began stroking his hair softly. John looked up at her; tears began falling from his eyes and down his cheeks.

"What are we gonna do? We're too late, it's all over," said John tears still streaming down his face.

"John, it's okay, everything is going to be okay," said Cameron reassuringly.

"How's it gonna be okay?" asked John.

Cameron leant over to him and began wiping away his tears.

"There is still a chance the T-888 is inside," said Cameron.

"Apart from a few civilians there is no one else here, no authorities. Evidently they have not been informed of this incident," she added.

"Meaning it's only just happened?" said John.

"Correct, it is highly probable that the T-888 is inside trying to acquire the arm," said Cameron.

"I will enter the premises and disable the T-888, failing that we shall head to the Time Displacement Equipment in an attempt to head it off," she added.

"What should I do?" replied John.

"Wait here, and stay out of sight until I return," explained Cameron.

John gave a nod and slouched into his chair out of sight as Cameron quickly exited the car.

"Cam... be careful," said John softly.

Cameron turned back to him and winked as she closed the door behind her and made her way towards the police station. As she reached the main entrance she quickly stopped to inspect the two dead officers; she put the tip of her index finger into the blood... it was still warm, the police officers were killed very recently.

Cameron picked up the Cop-Issued Beretta that lay beside the corpse and made her way into the building, pulling back the hammer.

She began scanning the area hastily in an attempt to locate any clues to the T-888's whereabouts. She had to enhance her vision due to the smoky haze that had now engulfed the entire area as a result of a few small fires that had erupted behind the main reception desk. The floor had now become a horrifying collage of documents, blood and bodies, most dead and a few still alive. There was a constant echo of pain and suffering surrounding the entire building as the helpless injured frantically crawled around the floor in a futile attempt to find help, but there was no help; no help for what they had encountered.

As Cameron manoeuvred herself further into the building the true horror of the incident began to slowly come into view. She began analysing the corpses in order to ascertain the cause of death so she knew what to expect if the T-888 was still present. For most, the cause of death was a shot from a high powered weapon. This was evident due to the nature of the wounds; some of the officers had multiple limbs missing, as well as large entry wounds to the chest and stomach resulting in organs becoming fully exposed most of which lay on the floor beside the lifeless corpses.

Cameron heightened her senses to full alert as she noticed a small undamaged sign that had been bolted to one of the walls. She moved in for a closer inspection.

_F2: Homicide_

_F1: Narcotics_

_G: Main Reception_

_B1: Holding Cells_

_B2: Evidence_

Directly to her left beside the sign was a set of stairs leading to the multiple floors within the station. She began to proceed down the stairs carefully avoiding the corpses littered randomly on her way.

"C'mon men we have to take this guy out."

"Yes sir"

"Yes sir"

Cameron stopped dead at the voices of the three men seconds before the sound of gunfire and screaming echoed the entire area. It was now apparent that the T-888 was still in the building, they still had a chance, the mission wasn't a failure.

Cameron reached the bottom of the staircase to be met with a pile of corpses next to a large wooden door that had been forced opened, a small hole right where the door handle was supposed to be. She outstretched her right arm pointing the gun dead ahead whilst carefully scanning the area for any potential movement. The trough lights within the evidence room had been completely destroyed apart from one at the back which was flickering on and off like a firefly at night.

As Cameron entered the room she quickly switched to her nightvision in a better attempt to locate the T-888 and the arm. Inside the windowless room stood many rows of shelves cluttered with boxes and files taken from various crime scenes within the city, some of which had been knocked to the floor during the conflict. Cameron proceeded deeper into the darkened room maintaining 100 awareness in order to locate the T-888, before noticing a large opened box in front of her. Her HUD zoomed in on the white sticker located on the side.

_Evidence #134557_

_Metrolink Train Derailment_

_16/03/2007_

Cameron quickly processed the information; the dates matched, the train that derailed was indeed a Metrolink and the evidence was being held in this department. This had to be the box she was looking for. She slowly moved over to the box and peered inside to reveal a vast emptiness within; apart from a few report files.

Cameron sensed a violent intrusion in her leg as she fell to the floor face first. She quickly looked up and then at her leg which now had a large metal rod protruding from it which had buried itself deep into her endoskeleton. She ripped the pole from her leg and began to stand, but found herself falling back to the ground. She quickly conducted a self diagnostic in order to ascertain the problem.

-- Scanning Potential Damage... Scan Complete --

-- WARNING --

-- Lower Right Hydraulic Cylinder Malfunction --

The metal rod had been rammed so far into her leg that it made contact with the hydraulic cylinder used to function her knee joint resulting in very limited movement from the limb. Cameron turned onto her back and began to sit up until she found herself face to face with a set of menacing yet familiar eyes.

"Cameron, I haven't seen you in a while."

The T-888 moved closer into view holding the arm in his right hand.

"I should have assumed he would pick you. He wouldn't have gone through all that trouble otherwise," he added in a cold monotone voice.

"I don't understand," said Cameron confusingly.

"You really don't remember anything do you?" said the T-888 edging closer to her.

Cameron continued to stare into his cold eyes and slowly shook her head.

"No," she said quietly.

"Must be the chip," replied the T-888.

"It doesn't matter, you are going to die here," he added before landing a crushing left hook to Cameron's face sending her into one of the storage shelves.

The T-888 quickly advanced onto Cameron who desperately tried getting to her feet in time, but before she was able to regain balance she found herself being driven into the wall repeatedly leaving an indentation of her body within. It then threw Cameron across the room straight into one of middle shelves knocking her and the rest of them down like a set of dominoes.

Before she was able to assess the situation; Cameron was again lifted off her feet by the T-888, his hand pressed around her neck like a vice. He threw her to the floor, keeping hold of her neck to stop her from moving. Seconds later Cameron sensed a massive trauma to her left arm as she glanced over to see that the metal rod from before had now impaled her arm and been driven straight through the floor. She frantically tried to force her arm free, but it had been driven too deep into the ground. The T-888 pinned down her right arm and began landing punch after punch to her face as her head constantly came into contact with the concrete floor with each blow.

Cameron managed to free her arm from the T-888's powerful grip before landing a crushing right hook of her own sending him into the wall. She quickly leant over to her left arm and pulled herself free from the impalement before staggering to her feet. She slowly limped across to the T-888 who attempted to land a straight punch to her stomach, but she countered and threw him back into wall. She made her way over to him and began continuously stomping on his face with her undamaged foot.

The T-888 eventually countered Cameron's onslaught by grabbing her leg and swinging her into one of the standing shelves. He began moving toward a helpless Cameron; part of his face now revealing its metal endoskeleton as well as its red mechanical eye which burned deep into Cameron's now fragile body.

The T-888 stopped and glanced at his watch.

"Time to end this."

John's spine had begun to ache as he continually sat in his awkward position out of sight awaiting Cameron's return. He started tapping the side of the dash impatiently as he glanced at the car's analogue clock. It had been 15 minutes since Cameron entered the police station.

"What the hell is taking her so long... I hope she's okay," John thought to himself anxiously.

He sat up abruptly in order to get a look at his surroundings. Everything was the same as before except now there were a few more civilians inspecting the chaos from a distance, still no sign of any authorities.

"Screw it," said John as he exited the car and began sprinting towards the police station sparking whispers of shock from the bystanders.

As he entered the building his eyes widened in horror at the death and suffering that surrounded him. He quickly snapped out of it and shielded his face with his jacket in an attempt to keep out the smoke. He proceeded further into the station glancing in all directions for any leads as to where Cameron could be before noticing the small sign dictating the floor structure for the station.

John made haste down the flights of stairs, grabbing a Beretta from the floor on the way before arriving at B2 in front of the smashed wooden door. He aimed the weapon straight ahead as he slowly made his way closer to the door. He peered inside as the trough light still continued to flicker on and off giving him half second glimpses of the destruction inside. John took a deep breath as he entered further into the silent room, vigorously panning his Beretta from left to right.

As the light flickered, John caught a glimpse of something towards the back of the room, beside a damaged storage shelf. He moved in closer as he noticed a few small waves of beautiful brown hair coiled around the shelf.

John dropped the weapon in shock as he dashed over to Cameron's lifeless body which was completely entangled with the shelf. He stared at her in horror as he began to examine the extent of her damage. A large amount of her synthetic skin on her right leg was missing, leaving the knee portion of her endoskeleton fully exposed. There was a small intrusion on her left upper arm revealing a small amount of metal; as well as some skin missing from her fingers on both hands, again revealing metal. Her face was covered in smaller cuts which were emitting blood, more so than her more serious wounds.

With all his strength John managed to pull Cameron free from the structure before she fell to the floor motionless. John knelt down beside her, propping her head up against his leg.

"Cameron... Cameron wake up... please Cameron!" said John stammering as his eyes began to fill up.

His pleas fell to a deaf ear as Cameron continued to lie there helplessly.

"Cameron you can't die, you promised me we would stop Judgement Day. I can't do this without you," said John.

He felt his arms and legs begin to shake uncontrollably, his heart rate elevating at a geometric rate. He was beginning to hyperventilate.

"Cameron... please... I love you," said John as his tears began to flow, falling on Cameron's damaged face.

John felt his heart skip a beat as he felt Cameron's body begin to jolt. Her eyes quickly opened to be met with John's.

"John, what are you doing here? I told you to wait in the car," said Cameron as she attempted to sit up.

"Cam... I was worried," said John wiping away his tears.

Cameron took a few seconds to examine him quickly.

"That was tactically dangerous, but I understand why you did it," said Cameron understandingly.

John gave her a small nod.

"What the hell happened here? Where's the T-888?" asked John as he helped Cameron to her feet.

"The T-888 caught me by surprise resulting in my hydraulic cylinder sustaining damage which reduced my overall efficiency," said Cameron.

"He managed to escape with the arm, he will now be heading for the Time Displacement Equipment," she added as she began to limp towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" asked John as he caught up with her.

"We must get to the Time Displacement Equipment immediately and stop the T-888 before he reaches 2009," explained Cameron.

"But Cam you can't... you're in no state to take him on now... he'll kill you," said John worryingly as he picked up the Beretta.

"Quite possibly. If I fail you must escape this place immediately and return to 1999. We may have delayed Judgement Day long enough for future John to execute a contingency plan," explained Cameron.

John knew in his heart that he wanted to save her. He wanted to take her away from all this, mend her and then live out his days with her; irrelevant of the fact she was a machine. She wasn't a machine in his eyes, not anymore; she was Cameron, his friend, his one true friend.

John's mind however took control, as much as he wanted to listen to his heart, he knew that it could never happen. He knew that Cameron would not stop until either the mission was complete or she was destroyed, and it was the same for him too.

"Okay at least let me help you to the car," said John as he manoeuvred Cameron's arm over his shoulder and put his hand around her waist.

They slowly exited the police station and back to the car. John helped Cameron into the passenger's seat and assumed his position in the driver's seat.

"Where is the Time Displacement Equipment?" asked John.

"It is located at the Wells Fargo History Museum approximately 8.6 miles away," said Cameron.

"I will direct you," she added.

John nodded as he quickly started the engine and began speeding his way to their destination.

"Take the next right, followed by the third left," said Cameron.

"Okay," said John as he followed her instructions.

"Look we are going to need some sort of plan if we want any chance of taking this thing out," he added commandingly.

"Affirmative, the Time Displacement Equipment is located within the prehistoric section of the museum. Once inside we will need to find a way to disable the T-888's primary functions," explained Cameron.

"And how do we do that?" asked John.

"I don't know yet, once inside I will assess the area for the most logical method. Take the next two lefts, followed by the second right," said Cameron.

John continued to follow Cameron's instructions; though her voice was now much quieter than its usual self, it was as if she was now mentally weaker since the encounter. John pushed all the what if's out of his head and remained focused on the task at hand.

"We are approaching South Hope Street now, take the next left," said Cameron as John began to slow the car down.

He rolled up next to the museum to see that the main entrance doors had been pried open and the alarm bells were ringing.

"We must hurry," said Cameron as she opened her door and tried desperately to exit the car.

John quickly got out and ran round to Cameron's side; he carefully took hold of her hand and pulled her up to her feet. She stumbled forward, but John was able to catch her before she fell over.

"Cam... are you sure you can do this?" asked John as he helped her regain balance.

"Yes," said Cameron as she began limping towards the museum.

John accompanied her, supporting her where necessary.

"The prehistoric section is located on the second floor," said Cameron as they entered the museum.

John nodded as he took hold of her and helped carry her up the flights of stairs that lay in front. Once at the top Cameron fell to her knees.

"Cam! You okay?" asked John trying to keep his voice down to a minimal.

"I'm fine, my movement is problematic due to the damage," said Cameron as she rose to her feet.

"Follow me," she added as she began moving deeper into the museum's second floor.

As they entered the main hall, they found themselves surrounded by a series of prehistoric bones belonging to dinosaurs from millions of years ago. The walls were covered in elegant framed pictures; mainly of painted images of these prehistoric creatures. Throughout the hall laid multiple glass cabinets all of which included the bones of smaller animals, accompanied by an illuminated glass panel featuring a small description. All of which was illuminated further by the flashing red tint from the alarm beacons above.

They reached a large sophisticated wooden door at the end of the main hall which had been ripped from its hinges and now laid on the floor in two halves.

"John wait here, I will call for you," said Cameron as she pushed John aside and began limping into the room.

John peered round the corner to see a large square room. Similarly to the main hall, the walls were decorated with elegant photographs and paintings. In the centre of the room stood a gigantic bones structure of a Tyrannosaurus Rex accompanied by a small illuminated panel.

Cameron slowly made her way to the opened steel door at the back of the room, the same steel door from the library in 1999. She quietly entered to see the T-888 standing over the operating terminal, punching the keys to his destination with the arm located on the table beside him. Cameron grabbed the T-888 from behind and threw him out of the room and onto the floor.

"You again," said the T-888 raising to his feet.

"You always were strong, stronger than the rest," he added as he began moving closer to Cameron.

The T-888 went to land a slow strong punch to Cameron's face, but she anticipated the move and was able to counter with two quick punches to his chest before driving her knee into his face sending him back to the floor.

Cameron began limping towards the T-888, but before she could attack he sent a strong kick to her damaged leg knocking her to the floor. He quickly got to his feet and started rapidly driving Cameron's head into the floor and tossing her like a feather onto the illuminated panel destroying it under Cameron's weight.

John peered round the corner again to see Cameron desperately trying to crawl away from the onslaught, with the T-888 in high pursue. He took a deep breath and entered the room.

"HEY OVER HERE!" he shouted at the top of his voice, whilst unloading the Beretta into the T-888's back.

The T-888 stopped dead in its tracks and slowly turned to John.

"IT'S ME JOHN CONNOR," shouted John as he threw the empty Beretta at the T-888 with a look of disgust on his face.

"My mission does not require your termination, though I'm sure Skynet would be pleased," said the T-888 as he began moving closer to John smiling.

John felt his legs turn to stone, he wanted to run but he couldn't move. He was stuck, petrified in fear as the T-888 came bearing down on him. Seconds later John felt a crash of excruciating pain as the T-888 landed a devastating blow to his face, sending him flying towards Cameron's position. He looked up at her a mixture of blood and tears pouring down his face.

"Cam... I'm sorry," said John.

"John... listen to me... get behind the structure," said Cameron quietly as she pointed up at the T-Rex.

With all his remaining strength John got to his feet and ran behind the T-Rex, hiding beside the panel it was standing on. The T-888 began proceeding to his position, the termination order now clearly imprinted on his HUD. Before he was able to get to John, Cameron grabbed his leg and pulled him to the ground. The T-888 landed a powerful kick to her face, but she made reaction and kept hold of his leg with as much grip as she could muster. With her remaining hand she reached up and grabbed the leg bone of the T-Rex and began to pull.

"John run NOW," shouted Cameron as she pulled the bone free and the entire structure came crashing down, landing on both her and the T-888.

John watched, pure terror in his face as he saw Cameron disappear under the colossal weight of hundreds of prehistoric bones.

"CAMERON!"

John frantically got to his feet and approached the wreckage; he began vigorously flinging bones left and right in a manic attempt to locate Cameron and to make sure she was okay.

John jumped back, eyes widening... heart dying. He slowly moved closer coming to the realization of what had just happened. Cameron laid motionless, a large segment of bone impaling her beautiful face; blood pouring from the wound. The lump of bone had penetrated deep into her face; her eyes, nose and top half of her mouth were completely destroyed and replaced with a portion of the creamy white Femur belonging to the T-Rex. There was no doubt about it, Cameron was dead... terminated.

Just as the horrifying thought finally sunk into John's mind he saw a large hand burst out from under the wreckage. His eyes widened further as the T-888 arose from the carnage; both red mechanical eyes burning deep into John's face as tears began to pour uncontrollably.

"She always was strong, but there's no way she's coming back from that," said the T-888 edging closer to John with an evil smile across his face.

John fell to his knees, his heart shattered into a million pieces. The one true friend he had was gone, he had lost all hope... he had lost the will to live.

John felt himself being lifted into the air, he slowly opened his eyes and stared deep into the T-888's mangled face. At first he felt scared; afraid, but it slowly began to dissipate as he let out a deep breath, followed by an innocent smile.

"I'll see you soon Cameron," said John to himself as the smile grew larger.

"The future's ours," said the T-888.

John felt an overwhelming sense of pressure around his neck before hearing a soft definitive crack. He fell to the floor... stone dead.

The T-888 looked down at the stagnant corpse of John Connor a smile growing on his face.

-- Subject John Connor: Terminated --


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: An Eye For An Eye**

"Explain to me again how this is gonna work?"

"Look, I already explained this Sergeant. I spent the last 3 years putting this whole operation together, you were there, you know the measures we took to ensure this mission was a success."

"Yeah don't remind me."

"Besides, Cameron's chip is the most sophisticated to date. There's no situation she can't handle."

"True... but what about possible complications, remember we discussed this during her... ya know."

"Sorry for being sceptical about all this, but I'm just looking out for you bro... I mean what if he found out the truth about her."

"Thanks for your concern, but as I told you before her chip is too powerful, there's no way she could..."

"Connor, Reese... you'd better get in ere."

The two men glanced at each other and then at the engineer who frantically rushed back to the control room.

"We can discuss this another time."

They followed the engineer to the control room, their main source of all operations. Inside was a montage of electrical equipment used to power the facility and monitor all ongoing missions whether they are present or past.

"John... you might wanna take a look at this," said the engineer pointing at one of the monitors.

"And what is it I'm looking at?" asked John.

"Cameron's transmitter... its offline," said the engineer in a quiet voice.

John let out a sigh of relief turning to the man he was recently arguing with.

"I told ya Derek, there's nothing she can't handle," said John happily.

"Err... John take a closer look," said the engineer worryingly as he pulled up some addition information on the monitor.

"Last known location Wells Fargo History Museum, 2007... that doesn't make any sense. It's not supposed to end there," said John confusingly.

"John... she's offline," said Derek placing his hand on John's shoulder.

"No! That's not possible... she probably just requires a reboot," said John as he began pacing up and down the room.

"She's been offline for over 3 minutes," said the engineer softly.

John froze like a statue in the middle of the room; he felt a small tear forming in his right eye, but quickly brushed it away upon noticing that everyone was watching him.

"Hang on, I think I got something," he added as he began punching a combination of keys.

John and Derek quickly rushed over to the engineer's terminal and began examining the monitor.

"There's a transmitter online," said the engineer pointing to a small dot on the screen.

"Is it Cameron?" asked John as his heart began to race uncontrollably.

"No, it's a much older model... one of our first," said the engineer.

John and Derek exchanged a look of shock at one another before turning back to the monitor and examining it further.

"How the hell can a hostile infiltrator carry one of our tags?" asked Derek staring at John.

John put his hand to his mouth and began to think for a few seconds before abruptly turning back to Derek, eyes widened.

"Can you check the tag number?" asked John as he moved towards the engineer and began examining the monitor.

The engineer began hitting a sequence of keys until a large portion of data appeared on the left hand side of the screen.

"Tag number 027," said the engineer.

"Son of a bitch, I knew it!" said John angrily.

Both the engineer and Derek glanced over at John with a quizzical look on their face.

"Derek, you remember that reprogrammed infiltrator that helped us out with battle strategies during the planning stages of the mission?" asked John.

"Yeah... he did have an oddness to him and then he suddenly went AWOL after we started the Mackenzie Parameters," replied Derek.

"Well he's right there," said John angrily pointing at the screen.

"Why didn't you notify me of this before," asked John glancing over at the engineer.

"Sorry sir, but during the mission the system was set to specifically follow Cameron's tag which reduces the risk of possible confusion during the monitoring stages. It's only when her tag showed as offline I checked other alternatives to rule out the possibility of a glitch," explained the engineer.

"Shit, this is bad," said Derek.

"You're telling me! Not only was he the first infiltrator to be successfully reprogrammed, but he's the only hostile that knows the truth about Cameron, not to mention our battle strategies. He knew the location of the TDE, our plans... everything," replied John.

"You actually know why he went AWOL?" asked Derek, feeling somewhat confused about the whole situation.

"I don't, but think about it. He was one of our first; he may not have the most advanced chip, but he definitely had the most experienced. My guess... he turned bad, but unlike the rest he defected back to Skynet... just like a human would in the same situation," explained John.

"That would also explain why he was so talkative... was quite disturbing," said Derek.

"And now because of him... Cameron is dead," said John quietly.

Derek grabbed John by the shoulder, but he shrugged it off and retreated to a nearby chair in the middle of the room. He lowered his head to his hands and began vigorously shaking his head.

"So... what happens now?" asked Derek with a concerned look on his face.

John slowly raised his head from his hands a looked Derek in the eye.

"I die," said John softly.

There was an echo of silence as everyone in the room turned to John; all sharing the same shocked look.

"I know my 15 year old self... if Cameron is killed I will just give up and accept my fate," said John quietly.

"You can't be certain of that," said Derek moving closer to John.

"You're right I can't be certain, but I can't take any chances. If I die we no longer exist, we lose. Besides I'm not about to give up at the first hiccup," said John as he glanced at the small sign outside the control room marked "TDE --".

"You call this a hiccup?!" said Derek raising his voice.

John made no reaction to Derek's comment; instead he leapt to his feet and made his way back to the engineer who was busy studying the information on his screen.

"What was Cameron's time of death?" he asked.

"Approximately 7:47am, Saturday 24th March 2007," replied the engineer.

"Prep the TDE for 7am the same day," said John commandingly.

"Yes sir," replied the engineer as John quickly left the room, Derek following close behind.

"John, you can't do this!" said Derek as the red beacons around them began to flash.

_WARNING: TDE departure 2 minutes._

"I am doing this, it's the only way," replied John calmly.

"But it's a suicide mission John, there's no way you can take on a triple in close combat," said Derek making a desperate attempt to stop John in his tracks.

"It may well be a suicide mission, but if my 15 year old self can prevent Judgement Day then all this will never happen. Right now he's much more important than me," said John as he approached the TDE chamber.

_WARNING: TDE departure 1 minute 30 seconds._

John entered the chamber and let out a deep breath. Inside the cold and secluded room stood the circular pattern of jet engines used to power the electronic fields required for time travel, all of which encased in a thick layer of reinforced glass. John turned to Derek and placed both hands on his shoulders.

"Reese... you have been a loyal and trustworthy friend throughout these dark times, as well as an excellent sergeant. Which is why I'm leaving you in full command," said John.

_WARNING: TDE departure 1 minute._

Derek looked at John for a few seconds, processing what he just said. He went to open his mouth but stopped and instead put his arms round John and gave him a quick hug.

"Godspeed Connor," he said as John entered the glass chamber.

_WARNING: TDE_ _departure 30 seconds._

"Give my regards to Kyle," shouted Derek as John sealed the chamber.

Derek was now joined by most of the engineers from the control room as well as many resistance fighters who had come to pay their final respects to their saviour before he disappeared forever.

John looked down at his feet as he saw the blue electricity start to shoot up around him.

_WARNING: TDE departure 10 seconds._

John let out another deep breath as he looked back at his fellow comrades who all stood to attention and began saluting. He remembered the times when he too was stood behind the glass on those two historic days when he watched Kyle and the T-101 disappear; their mission to protect John Connor... and now it was his turn.

John covered his eyes as the bright blue orb began to take shape around him; the intense pain getting worse by the second until the blue orb was replaced with a bright white light... and he was gone.

...

John landed face first in a dark alley, the cold piercing his naked body like razorblades. He quickly got to his feet and began to examine his surroundings whilst moving towards the nearest opening onto the main streets.

"Hey buddy, did you just see a real bright light?"

John stopped in his tracks to see a middle aged homeless man sitting on the ground with his back propped up against the wall. Evidently the man had been on the streets for quite some time, since his beard reached his chest and his cloths were old and tatty with holes randomly located on them.

John looked down at the man as he landed a powerful punch to his face rendering him unconscious. John then started to hastily strip the man of his clothes and began putting them on himself.

Once fully clothed John sprinted out of the alley and onto the street; he panned his head from left to right looking for a road sign indicating his current whereabouts. After making his way a few yards down the street, he was met with a sign marked "N Spring St."

John started to concentrate hard in an attempt to remember the directions he would have to take in order to reach his destination. Since he had spent so many years devising this very mission he had become fully aware of the small area surrounding City Hall.

"Okay... head south on North Spring Street, turn right at Alpine Street, left at North Hill Street, right at West Cesar E Chavez Avenue, left at North Grand Avenue, right at West 1st Street and left at South Hope Street," said John to himself as he began to sprint as fast as he could.

John calculated that it would take approximately half an hour to reach the museum if he were to continue at this speed. He knew that time was not on his side, and that failure was not an option.

...

"HEY, IT'S ME JOHN CONNOR!" shouted John as he emptied the Beretta into the back of the T-888 before throwing it at him.

The T-888 slowly turned to John grinning as he made his approach. John froze in place at the T-888 came bearing down on him before landing a crushing blow to his face sending him flying towards a helpless Cameron. John looked up at her, blood and tears pouring down his face.

"Cam... I'm sorry," said John.

"John... listen to me... get behind the structure," said Cameron pointing up at the T-Rex.

Once John was safely behind the T-Rex's panel she grabbed the T-888 by its leg and pulled it to the ground. The T-888 retaliated by landing a devastating kick to Cameron's face, but she made no reaction and instead reached up for the leg bone belonging to the T-Rex.

"John run NOW," shouted Cameron as she pulled the bone free.

Before the structure came crashing down on her, Cameron felt herself being violently pulled aside as the wreckage impacted with the floor missing her by inches.

"Ahhhh, shit."

Cameron quickly looked round to see a man lying on the floor, a small bone protruding from his leg. John came running to the scene instantly coming to aid of Cameron; he propped her up on his leg and began softly stroking her brown hair.

"Are you okay, I thought I'd lost you," said John with a sense of relief in his voice.

"And you would have done too if I hadn't arrived in time," said the man as he ripped the bone fragment from his leg.

Cameron's eyes widened as she quickly scanned the man's face.

"John?!" she said confusingly.

John looked up in shock at the man that sat before them; he quickly darted his eyes to the stranger and then back at Cameron.

"No... it's impossible. What the hell is going on?" shouted John as his heart began to race.

"Yes, I am you... from the year 2027. We were monitoring your progress through Cameron's chip and..."

John's future manifestation was halted mid sentence as the hand belonging to the T-888 shot up from out of the wreckage.

"Quick, I don't have time to explain. There's a tub of thermite in that room, bring it to me now," said future John pointing to the room with the steel door.

As John made a violent dash for the thermite, his future self quickly moved over to Cameron who had just gotten to her feet.

"Cam... there's so much I wanna say to you right now; it's just a shame you'll have no idea what I'm talking about," said future John softly.

Cameron looked at him and tilted her head in a quizzical manner.

"I don't understand," she said.

John let out a long drawn out sigh as his younger self came running back with the tub of thermite before handing it over.

"Get her to the TDE and get the hell outta here," said future John as he headed towards the pile of prehistoric bones.

John nodded as he took hold of Cameron and helped her into the hidden room. Cameron hastily began punching in the new co-ordinates for their next destination while John waited impatiently tapping his foot.

"It's ready," said Cameron making her way to the middle of the small room with John close behind.

John assumed his position next to Cameron as he watched his future self battle it out with the T-888 just feet from them.

Future John began moving closer to the wreckage, just as the T-888's head started to make its appearance. John grabbed a fragment of bone and began smashing it continuously into the T-888's face, knocking its head back into the carnage. John opened up the tub of thermite and started pouring the contents, over the partially exposed T-888 and the debris surrounding it.

He reached in and took hold of the lighter only seconds before the T-888 grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him into the prehistoric wreck. The T-888 took him by the throat and applied an unforgiving amount of pressure. Sensing the end was close, John flipped open the lighter, ignited it and dropped it onto the T-888.

"This one's for you Cameron."

The T-888 violently twisted John's head snapping his neck in an instant, the crack echoing throughout the entire room seconds before the lighter made contact with the thermite.

John stared in absolute disbelief as he watched his older self disappear into the raging inferno, the smell of his burning flesh creeping through the thin walls on the developing blue orb. A mixture of feelings began rushing through John's head, like a mirage of depression and angst completely taking his mind off the intense heat from the electronic field he was standing in.

In an instant the horrific images that lay before him were replaced by that memorable white light from the library back in 1999, and he was gone.

...

Both John and Cameron landed face first on the hard, cold floor; as the intense heat slowly dissolved from their bodies. John quickly leapt to his feet letting out a sigh of relief that it was nightfall; Cameron had programmed the timings perfectly, since nobody was in sight. As John's body became accustomed to its new surroundings, he felt that mirage of negativity slowly creep back into his mind about what had just happened at the museum. He wiped away the blood from his nose and turned back to Cameron who was still attempting to stand up.

"Cameron, what the hell happened back there?" asked John demandingly.

Cameron went to open her mouth to speak as she fell back to the floor; John's serious face quickly turned to sympathy as he rushed to her side and began helping her stand, the fact they were both naked having no effect on his actions.

"Don't worry about that for now, first things first; we need to find a safe place to lie low and fix your leg," said John as he helped Cameron to her feet.

"My database holds specific information on an apartment block located on Maple Avenue, approximately 1.3 miles from our current location," replied Cameron.

"What's so special about it?" asked John.

"It's the same apartment block used by the engineers sent to build the Time Displacement Equipment. My database specifically states the engineers left a range of items critical for the mission. We must head there immediately," explained Cameron as she began limping down the street.

John quickly caught up with her, putting her arm around his shoulders for support.

"We must acquire Clothing," said Cameron.

"Okay, but you're in no state to take on anything right now. Let's just take that car and get the apartments... maybe the engineers left us some clothes," replied John pointing to an old pickup truck parked at the end of the street.

"Affirmative," replied Cameron.

"And can you stop saying that? Can't you just say okay or somethin like that?" asked John as he began brushing the brown hair out of her face.

"Okay," said Cameron turning to John and smiling.

"See that wasn't so tough wa-."

John was abruptly interrupted by the faint sound of a dog barking in the distance. He instinctively turned to Cameron and then across the street, as a set of lights appeared outside one of the residential properties.

"Quick into the alley," whispered John as he made a dash for the darkened alley just in front of them, dragging Cameron along with him.

They both pressed their backs against the cold brick walls as John slowly peered out into the street. The door to the home swung open and a semi-overweight man appeared with a Jack Russell at his feet. The dog continued barking frantically as it sprinted up the small wooden gate at the foot of the garden and began pawing at it.

"What is it boy? Whatcha see?" said the man, looking up and down the street.

"There's nothing there you silly thing," he added as he marched over the dog and picked it up before heading back into the house.

John continued watching from the alley and as the lights were switched off, he made his way back to the sidewalk.

"That was close," said John letting out a sigh of relief.

"Yes, thank you for helping me into the alley. If you hadn't I would not have made it in time," replied Cameron.

"That's okay Cam," said John smiling.

John quickly turned back to the alley as he noticed a small fire out of the corner of his eye.

"What is that?" asked John.

Cameron took a moment to scan the anomaly in front of them.

"It appears to be a small fire emanating from a recycling bin. There also appears to be two men standing around it," replied Cameron.

John took a moment to consider his options. He knew that Cameron was in no shape to take on anything right now, but the cold was getting under his skin like a set of razors.

"Wait here," said John.

Cameron looked at him and tilted her head before looking back to the alley and performing another quick scan.

"No John, it is too dangerous," replied Cameron as she moved him aside and began limping into the alley.

"Cam! Get back here!" whispered John.

Cameron ignored his pleas and moved in on the targets ahead; along the way she reached down and picked up a large piece of wood. She slowly approached the two men who luckily had their backs to her; she raised the wood ready to swing, but found herself falling to the ground.

"What the hell?"

"Who's there?"

The two men turned abruptly at the sound of Cameron's encounter with the ground. Sensing they were close; she grabbed the piece of wood and swept it across the ground, knocking them both down. She hastily crawled over to them before they had time to react and applied a chokehold to both at the same time until they were unconscious. She slowly got back to her feet as John came rushing towards her.

"Cam! I could have taken care of it," he said.

"No John it's too dangerous. If they had spotted you, I would not have made it in time. This was the safest and most logical choice," replied Cameron.

John wanted to argue back; he wanted to feel like the protector for once, but no matter what way he looked at it, Cameron was right. If he had been seen his chances would have been slim, especially since Cameron wouldn't have arrived in time to aid him.

"Okay, well what's done is done... let get their clothes," said John as he began stripping one of the men.

They hastily changed into their new set of clothes before making their way back to the street. Their new clothes were a more suitable fit than their last attempt, but judging from the appearance and smell of the clothes their previous owners would have definitely fitted into the homeless category.

"C'mon let's get to the truck before somthin else happens," said John.

John picked up the pace as he started his pursue towards the old pickup truck, with Cameron clinging onto his side for support. As they arrived at the vehicle, John reached for the door handle to the driver's seat and gave it a light tug.

"Damn, it's locked," said John hitting the glass window.

"Cam... think you could do something about that?" he added.

Cameron carefully pushed John aside as she assumed her position in front of the door. She clenched her fist and drove it straight through the glass; smashing it in an instant which triggered the car's alarm.

"Quick get in while I start her up," said John pointing to the passenger seat.

Cameron quickly staggered around the car, using it's bodywork as support while John entered the driver's position. As he sat and moved into position, he felt a small glass shard penetrate his skin causing a sharp but tolerable pain. He took a deep breath and ignored it as he leant under the dash and pulled out the main circuit board; he started to manoeuvre the wires using different colour combinations until the alarm stopped and truck finally started.

John sat back up and assumed his driving position just as Cameron had finished with her struggle to enter the vehicle. Once he was happy that Cameron was securely inside, he pushed his foot on the gas and began to make haste.

"Okay Cam you're gonna have to direct me again," said John.

"Okay, it's not far. Just take the next left and the third right and then follow the road until I say so," replied Cameron as she turned to John, a look of concern on her face.

"John, are you hurt?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine... don't worry about me," said John.

"John, you look like you're in pain. Are you hurt?" asked Cameron, the concern on her face growing more serious.

John let out a small sigh as he shifted in his chair to try and get comfortable.

"I sat on some glass when I got in the car, it's no big deal though, we can worry about it later," said John.

Cameron looked at him and tilted her head; at a glance he seemed fine, with no major blood loss. She turned and faced the front, watching the street whizz past her vision as John sped their way to safety.

"Okay," she replied.

...

"Is that it?" asked John pointing at a tall derelict building.

"Yes," said Cameron.

"Stop here," she added.

John slowly grinded the truck to a halt and parked it just outside the main entrance to the apartments. From the outside the building looked as if it had been uninhabited for years; most of the windows were either smashed or boarded up and small areas in the outer wall were decayed and rotting.

John quickly exited the truck and made his way over to Cameron. He could feel the blood from his wound trickling down his leg; he reached around until he had a firm grip on the piece of glass and pulled, sending a small spurt of blood from the wound which landed on the hood of the truck.

"You should keep pressure on that," said Cameron as she got out the truck.

"It'll be okay, I'll worry about it inside," said John.

He took hold of Cameron as the two of them made their way into the apartment block. When they got inside they realised the interior was about as appealing as the exterior; the walls were heavily decayed and leaking water in places, there was a faint odour of nitrates echoing the entire area, and the walls were decorated in various graffiti attempts from young adolescents.

"Nice place," said John sarcastically.

"The building's structural integrity is below average, I wouldn't consider it a nice place," said Cameron.

"It was a joke Cam," replied John nudging her playfully.

"Oh... thank you for explaining," said Cameron as she manoeuvred deeper into the building.

"So where were they staying?" asked John.

"According to my database, their hideout is located on the 5th floor, apartment 28," replied Cameron as she made her way to the staircase.

John quickly caught up and began helping her with ascension by putting her arm around his shoulders and his hand around her waist for support.

"Why can't these hideouts ever be on the ground floor?" asked John.

"The room on the 5th floor was the most appropriate," replied Cameron.

"Well at least the smell isn't as bad up here," said John as they reached the 5th floor.

"Correct, the nitrate levels are considerably lower in this part of the building," said Cameron.

"Thanks for that," said John sarcastically as he made his way towards apartment 28.

John slowly turned the door handle, as the door opened invitingly. John approached the entrance to the room, but Cameron stuck her arm out in front of him.

"Wait here while I check for possible threats," said Cameron as she entered the room.

The entrance to the room was made up of a small corridor with a wooden door located on either side. On the left was a small restroom in surprisingly good condition judging by the rest of the building. On the right was a small storage closet, though it was completely empty. Past the corridor laid the main room; inside was a large wooden desk at the back with nothing stored on top, and towards the left of the room was a small single bed with two sleeping bags positioned on the floor next to it.

"John, it's safe," said Cameron.

John made his way into the room and began quickly scanning the area from left to right instinctively; making sure everything was safe for himself. As he entered the main room he noticed the small bed on the left.

"Okay Cam lie down and let's take a look at your leg," said John pointing to the bed.

Cameron made her way over to the bed and laid down, before John ripped a hole in her pants to reveal the wound left by the metal rod.

"That looks bad, I may need some tool for this," said John looking around the room.

"There's nothing here. You said that the engineers left us important resources," said John confusedly.

"It will be hidden," replied Cameron as she started scanning the room in more depth.

A few moments later, Cameron's eyes became fixed the bottom section of the wall at the foot of her bed.

"John I can see a small crack in the wall over there," she said pointing to the location.

John moved over to the wall and began to inspect it. At first glance nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until he pressed on it. The wall had a flimsiness feel to it as opposed to the section above, as if it had been recently meddled with.

Cameron quickly moved from the bed and began proceeding over to John's location. She punched a hole through the wall to reveal a hidden compartment with large black bags stashed away inside.

"Thanks Cam. Okay go lie back down and I'll see if there's something here I can use," said John.

As Cameron made her way back to the bed, John began pulling the large bags from within the wall. After he removed the third and final bag, he noticed something hidden right at the back of the compartment. His eyes narrowed as he reached in to grab it, only he found himself unable to move the object due to its incredible weight.

"Man, whatever's hidden back there sure weighs a ton," said John.

John slid down onto his stomach and slowly crawled into the hole. He outstretched both of his hands and began to slowly pull the object closer to him. Once he finally removed it from the wall he jumped back in shock.

"Cam... what the hell is this?" asked John.

Cameron sat up and began to scan the object. It was a long black device, at least two feet in length. It had a 10x sniper scope mounted to the top with a laser pointer located beside it. The barrel was the longest and widest that John had ever seen, and there was a small power metre located on the side.

"It's a Photon Cannon," replied Cameron.

John's eyes widened as he felt his jaw drop to the floor.

"A... what!?" said John alarmingly.

"It is a weapon capable of firing a concentrate burst of electricity, though it's required recharge time is two minutes with every shot fired, it is very effective against infiltration units," explained Cameron.

John stepped back for a moment to gather his thoughts, he had been around guns all his life, he knew everything there was to know about them... but he had never heard of anything like this before... except for the stories of the post Judgement Day war against the machines.

Once those stories had crept into his mind it suddenly hit him. He remembered that back in the museum, he was so confused with the whole situation that he forgot to check the co-ordinates that Cameron had entered into the Time Displacement Equipment.

He slowly turned his head to Cameron, a look of seriousness on his face.

"Cameron... what year is this?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Comfort**

Cameron turned to John as he stared back at her; she could sense the fear and desire emanating from his face. John always wanted to know the answers, and yet he was always afraid of what he may hear, a fear of the unknown... but this was something he had to know.

"Cameron...?"

"The year is 2015," replied Cameron as she rested her head back down on the pillow.

"20...15?" said John quietly.

"Correct," replied Cameron.

"But... hang on a minute... Judgement Day happened in 2011... why is everythin like normal 4 years later?" asked John quizzically.

"We altered history when we destroyed the T-888 in the museum. Judgement Day's expected arrival is now Monday 15th March 2021," explained Cameron.

"We... don't you mean me... future me stopped the T-888," said John bowing his head.

"What happened back there Cam?" he added.

Cameron sat back up and moved herself closer to John, but her leg flung to the right uncontrollably almost hitting John in the face, who jumped back just in time to dodge the unintentional attack.

"Whoa, that's worse than I thought," said John.

"Lie back down okay, I'll take a look at your leg," he added.

Cameron laid back down on the bed and turned her head to John who made his way over the three black bags positioned on the floor beside the Photon Cannon.

"There's gotta be somethin in here we can use," said John as he began to open the first bag.

As he quickly unzipped the first bag, he was met with a small arsenal of weapons and ammunition. He quickly slid the bag to one side and began opening the second.

"No surprise there," he said as he turned back to the bag filled with guns.

Once John had removed the straps from the second bag, his eyes widened at the sight. Inside he found an incredibly large sum of money which had been piled messily into the bag, like the reward from a recent bank heist.

"I don't wanna know where that came from," he said as he hastily closed the bag and moved it to one side.

John pulled the third and final bag closer to himself and began to open it. He felt a smile creep across his face as he was met with a vast supply of medical equipment, as well as a large toolbox positioned on top.

"Perfect," he said as he took the bag and placed it on the foot of the bed.

John took out the toolbox and began searching through its contents before pulling out an adjustable wrench. He then grabbed one of the large first aid boxes and shifted himself closer to Cameron.

"So what exactly happened to your leg?" asked John as he ripped a hole in her pants to reveal the wound.

"My knee joint is powered by a hydraulic cylinder which was damaged during my encounter with the T-888," replied Cameron.

John's eyebrows rose sympathetically as he reached into the first aid box and removed a small scalpel.

"I'm sorry Cam... but I'm gonna have to cut deeper into the wound in order to see what's goin on," said John.

"That's okay," replied Cameron smiling at him innocently.

John took the scalpel and placed it beside the wound on Cameron's leg. He felt his hand begin to shake as he tried to make the incision.

"John, don't be afraid," said Cameron, noticing his hand.

"I know, it's just... never mind," said John softly.

John took a deep breath and began his incision. He made a small cut on either side of the wound in order to get a good view of the insides. Once he had finished cutting, he carefully pulled the skin aside to reveal the mechanical components within her leg.

"Cam... can you do me favour and explain what happened back at the museum?" asked John as he began inspecting her metallic leg.

"Will help to take my mind off this," he added.

"I cannot be certain of what exactly happened," replied Cameron.

John let out a long sigh as he continued to examine her leg. Cameron raised her head slightly, noticing the sadness currently portrayed on his face.

"But logically, future John travelled back to this time to save us. He said he was monitoring our progress, so he must have noticed something severe and felt it best to intervene," explained Cameron.

"What could have been so severe that he felt sacrificing himself was the only answer?" asked John.

"He pulled me from the bones just before they fell. It is possible that I could have been destroyed if he didn't intervene," said Cameron.

"So he sacrificed himself for you?" asked John intriguingly.

"I cannot be certain, but it is the most logical answer," replied Cameron.

"He must really have... hey I think I found it," said John looking up at Cameron.

John slowly inserted his fingers into the wound and carefully wrapped them around a small component.

"Okay Cam can you try and bend you leg a little?" asked John.

Cameron slowly began to bend her leg inwards as John felt inside for any movement. He felt the cylinder shaped object inside move inwards, but not as smoothly as it should, as if it were conflicting with an unnatural object that wasn't there previously.

"Okay it's not broken, but there's something inside causing a problem. The cylinder seems to be making contact with somethin that shouldn't be there," explained John.

"Is there a way I can disconnect the cylinder?" he added.

"Yes, remove the connection device located at the bottom of the cylinder," replied Cameron.

John began to quickly scan the component in an attempt to locate the connection device that Cameron was talking about. After a few moments he found a small bolt positioned towards the bottom of the cylinder that connected it to the rest of her metallic leg.

"I think I see it," said John.

"Turn it counter-clockwise in order to release," replied Cameron.

John took the adjustable wrench; modifying it to fit the bolt in Cameron's leg and began attempting to turn it counter-clockwise, but found it was so securely fastened that he was unable to release it.

He tightened the wrench around the bolt as much as humanly possible and began an attempt to rotate the bolt with both hands, using all the strength that he could muster. Eventually the wrench disengaged itself from Cameron's leg due to the intense pressure used by John. The recoil from the tool caused John to lose balance resulting in him stumbling back and falling from the bed, landing head first on the floor below.

"John, are you okay?" asked Cameron as she quickly sat up.

"Yeah... I'm fine, but that bolt isn't goin anywhere," said John caressing the back of his head.

"All my mechanical parts were created in a Skynet factory which makes use of the most advanced resources available to it. Basically all my parts have been built to be strong, durable and efficient," explained Cameron.

John quickly got to his feet, still rubbing the back of his head. He regarded Cameron's innocent stare for a short moment as he felt a sense of comfort and security enter his mind, but when his eyes travelled down her perfect body and reached her exposed leg; his thoughts were replaced with a sweeping cloud of depression, blanketing all positivity housed in his psyche.

Even now John still couldn't come to the realization that this perfect being in front of him was previously a ruthless killing machine, whose sole purpose in life was to execute him.

"Let me try," said Cameron holding out her hand.

John looked over at her confusedly; his mind had wandered into a tunnel of confliction with itself as if his conscience had split into two and began whispering opposing thoughts in his mind. One would tell him that Cameron is a sweet person, a kind person; she was his friend and he could trust her with his life. The other would tell him she is just like the rest, underneath all the beauty she was still the same killing machine that tried to take out his mother on that fateful night in 1984.

John pushed out the thoughts at the sound of Cameron's voice in an attempt to zone back into reality. The reality that she was here, now; that she would give her life for him in an instant... that she was his friend.

"Err... yeah sure," said John as he handed her the wrench.

Cameron took the wrench from John and fastened it tightly around the bolt in her leg. She began turning counter-clockwise and without much effort, released the bolt from its origins. She slowly removed the object from her leg and placed it on the bed sheets beside her.

"Well... you made that look easy," said John as he manoeuvred back to the bed.

"The functions within my leg are now fully offline, if you need to move it for any reason you will have to do it manually," said Cameron.

John gave a slight nod as he approached the injury once again, carefully taking hold of her leg and straightening it. Once fully straightened John removed the cylinder from its position, gaining access to a small hollow portion of her ligament the cylinder would enter during movement.

John slowly brushed his index across the metallic part in order to locate any signs of damage, but found it to be fully intact. John pressed his hand to his mouth as he began to consider other possible causes for Cameron's problematic movement.

"Is everything okay?" asked Cameron, studying John actions.

"Yeah... just can't seem to find the problem," replied John faintly.

John's head snapped upright as he began vigorously searching through the first aid box, re-emerging with a small set of tweezers. Cameron tilted her head slightly as John turned back to her, positivity radiating from his face.

"What is it?" asked Cameron.

"I think I know what may have happened," said John as he began inspecting the wound again.

John took the set of tweezers and slowly inserted them into the hollow portion of Cameron's leg. After a few moments of fiddling around with the inside, he felt the tweezers make contact with something, something small. John carefully grasped the object within the tweezers and slowly pulled it out and into view; it was a shard of metal that had somehow been embedded in her ligament.

"This must have been the problem," said John as he showed the small shard to Cameron.

"It appears to be a fragment from the metal rod used by the T-888," said Cameron examining the object closely.

John turned back to the injury and inserted the cylinder back into its appropriate location. Whilst holding it in place, he then took hold of the bolt and slid it back into position, turning it slightly so that it wouldn't fall out.

"Cam... you may wanna tighten that yourself," said John handing her the wrench.

Cameron took the wrench from John as he quickly turned back to the first aid box. Cameron leant over to her wound and with as little effort as before, tightened the bolt to a satisfactory level.

As she finished, John turned back to her holding a small wire thread and a needle.

"So if stitch this up will it heal over?" he asked.

"Yes," replied Cameron.

"Good... okay just try moving your leg quick," said John.

Cameron began moving her leg back and forth slowly as she conducted a brief scan on the area in question. A smile crept across her face as she turned back to John.

"The hydraulic cylinder is now 100% operational," said Cameron.

John smiled back as he took hold of the stitching apparatus and began to suture the wound, taking as much care as the typical doctor working on one of his patients. Cameron regarded John's actions with a blank expression on her face for a few moments, before smiling at him lovingly.

"John?"

"Yeah... what's up Cam?" asked John.

"What does it feel like to be in love?" asked Cameron as her smile grew more prominent.

John instantly stopped what he was doing and looked up at Cameron, a mixture of shock and care plastered across his face. He knew a machine couldn't feel emotion, couldn't feel love, but Cameron's voice seemed so sincere; as if she were genuinely showing an interest. John felt his body temperature begin to rise as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Err... why do you ask?" said John, brushing the beads of sweat from his forehead.

"In the future, John sutured one of my injuries from a piece of shrapnel. As he did it he took more care than was necessary and as I explained this to him, he told me it was because he loved me. The fact that you are doing the same thing now brought the memory to my attention," explained Cameron.

John quickly turned back to the wound and continued with the stitching as he tried to think up an answer. He couldn't understand how a hardened veteran like his future self could ever feel love for a machine, no matter how human she seemed. The idea sent his brain spiralling out of control, making him question everything his mother had told him about the machines. She told him they don't feel pity, remorse, fear, love... anything. So why was Cameron showing an interest into the most complex of all?

"Do you know why I said that?" asked John.

"I don't, that's why I asked you," replied Cameron.

"I... I don't know either," said John.

"There, that outta hold," he added as he finished suturing her leg.

John made his way over to the first aid box and replaced the remaining thread, as Cameron examined John's work with a smile on her face.

"John, you used the same level of care as you did in the future. Does this mean you love me too?" asked Cameron using the same sincere tone of voice.

John turned back to her slowly; his face turning red and his heart racing uncontrollably. This was one question he didn't want to answer.

"I... err, it's... it's complicated," said John nervously.

Cameron took a moment to process John's response. She could tell the question had sparked a series of emotions within him, his rise in temperature and his nervous tone of voice. She looked back at him, her face no longer as cute and innocent as before.

"I'm sorry... that was ineffective of me," said Cameron.

"No, it's okay. You were just confused and needed answers," said John letting out a silent sigh of relief.

The next few minutes seemed like an eternity to John as an awkward silence covered the entire room. He didn't know what to think, what Cameron's motives were, anything. Did she genuinely feel something towards John, or was she merely questioning an act in her past.

John felt as if his head were about to explode, he had to break the silence.

"Okay, let's take a look at your arm," he said making his way closer to Cameron.

"There is no internal damage, only external," said Cameron.

John took a set of bandages and antiseptic wipes from the first aid box and made his way over to Cameron. She turned onto her side and outstretched her arm for him to examine. He took one of the antiseptic wipes and began applying it to her bloodstained skin around the wound. Once clean he took up one of the bandages and ripped of a large segment before wrapping it around her arm tightly.

"That will heal up without stitches won't it?" asked John.

"Yes," replied Cameron.

"And what about your hands?" asked John.

"Yes, the synthetic skin will grow back over time," replied Cameron.

John took out another antiseptic wipe from its box and began to remove the dried blood surrounding the sutured wound on her leg, taking extra care to avoid the newly applied stitching. Afterwards he used the wipe to quickly clean off the remaining blood and muck from Cameron's face and hands.

"There, I think you're good to go," said John happily.

"Thank you," said Cameron smiling as she manoeuvred herself to the end of the bed.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" asked John stopping her from standing.

"It's late and you must rest now. This is the only bed," replied Cameron.

"No, it's okay. You need to lie down while your wounds heal... I'll just sleep on that," said John pointing to one of the sleeping bags on the floor.

Cameron took a moment to scan the floor, as well as the sleeping bag.

"It appears to be very uncomfortable on that. The chances of you sleeping are minimal," said Cameron with a concerned look to her face.

"I'll be fine, I've slept on worse," said John.

"Thanks for the offer," he added as he gently squeezed her shoulder.

John stood up, stretching his arms and yawning. He felt a small wave of tiredness flow throughout his body. He knelt down beside the sleeping bag closest to the bed and began setting it out. He looked up to see Cameron leaning over at him holding one of her pillows.

"Here, use this," said Cameron smiling.

"Thanks, think I'll be needing that," said John examining the dusty old floor.

"So what will you do? I mean do you sleep or anythin?" asked John as he sat beside her on the bed.

"There are no immediate threats in the area so I will enter standby mode. It will help with cell regeneration since most of my primary functions will be offline," explained Cameron.

"That's good, the sooner you're healed the better," said John.

"Goodnight," he added as he gently brushed the hair from her face.

"Goodnight," replied Cameron.

John heard a quiet hum emit from Cameron's head as she powered down. She laid there motionless with her eyes wide open, like a corpse.

John let out a small tut as he carefully closed her eyes in an attempt to make her seem more human. He leant over her and began to slowly caress her beautiful brown hair.

"I wish I could tell you the truth Cam... it's just... wrong... I shouldn't be feeling this," said John as he felt a tear form in his right eye.

John felt the love inside him take control; this was the only time he was able to truly express his emotions... when Cameron was unaware. He leant closer to her and softly pressed his lips against hers, a feeling of warmth and comfort radiating throughout his entire body.

"I love you Cameron."

John quietly got up from her bed and slipped into his sleeping bag. He adjusted himself into the most comfortable position he could find and closed his eyes ready to sleep; the images of Cameron's beauty helping his mind to relax.

Cameron felt a sense of comfort flow through her body as she let out a large smile across her face.

"I love you too John."


End file.
